To Redeem a Felon
State laws are putting more criminals on our streets. We go inside local efforts to deal with them.
Cover Story
To Redeem a Felon
California has a serious prison problem: By 2006 the state had locked up so many people that its prison system bursting at the seams. The number of inmates in California’s 33 prisons had ballooned to an all-time high of 173,000, more than double the capacity they’d been designed to hold. Inmates were squeezed into triple-bunk…
Bear Pop. Drop
A lot of folks have been seeing bears lately as the bulky beasts amble into backyards to grab up fall’s berries — big, gorgeous bears, some cinnamon, some black with blonde noses. The power of the black bear’s beauty and mischief has been known to distract folks from important indoor endeavors such as, say, watching…
That property tax bill? Er … never mind
For the last couple of years, every time auditor-controller Joe Mellett told Humboldt County supes he really needed some more accountants, it was “basically just me whining to the board,” Mellett recalled over the phone on Thursday afternoon. So Mellett sucked it up like lots of people on understaffed job sites. Sometimes work went unchecked.…
Freedom to Boycott
Above: Capleton performs at the Red Fox Tavern in 2010. Humboldt County loves its reggae. Check our calendar section this or any week for proof. And it makes sense. Reggae’s feel-good, pan-cultural message of “one love” jibes perfectly with our community’s streak of irie idealism, to say nothing of the ganja connection. But in recent…
It’s Alive! El Pulpo fires up in Eureka
You’ve probably seen pictures of the fire-spewing octopus El Pulpo Mecanico created by Duane Flatmo and friends Steve Gellman and Jerry Kunkel for Burning Man. It was featured in a recent spread in no less than Time Magazine. The gigantic kinetic sculpture was built in a local warehouse, but it’s never been fully assembled and…
Hit-and-Run/Hoopa Homicide “Person of Interest” in Custody
At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Sheriff Mike Downey announced that the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office identified a “person of interest” in custody in relation to last Thursday’s hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of HSU professor Suzanne Seemann and injured two other joggers. He’s also “of interest” in the recent Hoopa homicide investigation, according…
Great, Scott … New Public Art
Good news, Eurekans! You’ve got a bunch of new stuff to look at. As they tend to do about once a year or so, the City of Eureka and the Redwood Art Association have swapped out the public art pieces that adorn the edges of the C Street Market Square for new eye grabbers. Unlike…
Obituary released
Editor’s note: The family of the late Suzanne Seemann, who was killed Thursday while jogging with two friends, has released the following obituary and notice of memorial service to be held Saturday. The obituary will appear in the Times-Standard print edition on Tuesday. Suzanne W. Seemann (1972-2012) Suzanne (Suzie) Wetzel Seemann died Thursday,…
Jogger in fatal crash identified
UPDATE 9/30: Suzanne Seeman Obituary Released The jogger killed yesterday in a hit-and-run crash that seriously injured her two companions was Suzanne Wetzel Seemann, an HSU geography lecturer and the wife of Hank Seemann, Humboldt County’s deputy director of environmental services. Suzanne Seemann specialized in oceanic and atmospheric science, according to a press release from…
People of Wal-Mart: Eureka Edition
Holy Betty Rubble wig! Press release from the Eureka Police Department: The Eureka Police Department is requesting the publics assistance to identify the following female fraud suspect and a vehicle associated with her. The female has been purchasing items at various stores (Safeway, Walgreen’s, K-mart, and WalMart) by using stolen checks. The checks were…
One More Step
On Friday, a subcommittee of the North Coast Railroad Authority will meet at 10 a.m. in the Eureka City Council Chambers with one agenda item: to learn from an engineer, a railroad expert, about the current condition of the 101 corridor right of way around the bay from Eureka to Samoa. Why do I care…
Eight Days of Brew
We love our beer here in Humboldt — the thriving local microbrew industry shows it. And what better time to honor the magic potions made from hops and grain than the beginning of fall as local brewers, amateur and professional, celebrate the first ever Humboldt Beer Week. Saturday begins an eight-day beer-a-thon with more brew-related…
Uh …
Editor: Reflecting upon Mormon Mitt Romney possibly becoming president and the hardships his policies could bring, Becky Peterson (Mailbox, “Missionaries, Not Troops,” Sept. 13) brilliantly addressed the issue of government attempting to impose a particular religious doctrine on its multi-cultured populace. While Becky explained that corporate manipulation of innocent sinners is typically advanced by Christain…
What I Learned from Richard Thompson
“Who the hell is Richard Thompson?” People asked me that, with tilt of head or furrowed brow, when I told them I was going to Frets & Refrains, a week-ong music camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains to learn from the master guitarist and songwriter. Where do I begin? Thompson has garnered so many awards…
Fore Play, Anyone?
It was a chilly summer here on the North Coast but the early autumn is warm and sunny, so maybe it’s appropriate that the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Eureka has begun its 29th season with a summer stock comedy about golf, The Fox on the Fairway. This 2010 play by Ken Ludwig is given…
O’ Be Joyful
Couplings in music, ones that blur the personal and the artistic, are rarely fortuitous. Just ask Johnny Cash and June Carter or George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Their relationships traveled down many pothole-laden roads and hairpin turns. But though early in their journey, fortuitous just may be the apt term for Charleston, S.C.-based singer-songwriters Cary…
The Physics of Firewalking
“We discourage people from walking over hot coals.” When the usual year-end lists come out in December, I hope this will make it into the “Ten Best Quotations of 2012.” It comes from Reggie Williams, captain of the San Jose Fire Department, commenting on the 21 people who were treated for burns following their…
Another California Poem
california makes me nervous and its not the…
Freedom to Boycott
Humboldt County loves its reggae. Check our calendar section this or any week for proof. And it makes sense. Reggae’s feel-good, pan-cultural message of “one love” jibes perfectly with our community’s streak of irie idealism, to say nothing of the ganja connection. But in recent years, the tumultuous social landscape in Jamaica has given birth…
Outfit Yourself
Kayak: Borrow a kayak from a friend or rent one from Bigfoot Rafting Co. in Willow Creek or Pacific Outfitters in Arcata or Eureka. I prefer inflatable kayaks for this kind of short expedition, because they pack up small and light. In your dry bag: A chain bike lock (for locking up your kayaks while…
“Cuff”
Want trap? Arnold’s got you covered. This M | O | D crew representer has got the swag sauce and is well on his way to dripping Swagu all over the GhostTrap scene. Check out his supernatural abilities on the track below.
An Urban Kayak Adventure
I am not an adrenaline junkie. If the idea of hurling yourself through icy waves under gray skies appeals to you, then you’re lucky to live in an area where you can kayak year round. All you need is the right gear (dry suit, booties, gloves) and a bad attitude, and you can paddle…
Gray Matters Fall 2012
http://issuu.com/ncjournal/docs/graymatters_fall2012
Oh What a Night
Big thanks to everyone for a super-fun 2012 Best Of Humboldt Party last Friday — from the ticket/T-shirt printers and sellers (Scrappers Edge, Blackjack, The Works, Missing Link Records) to the broom-wielding cleanup crew (Eureka Theater volunteers and Journal staffers). In between tickets and brooms was a night of great music (Huckleberry Flint, The Trouble,…
Westboro Goes Irie
Westboro Goes Irie
Barn Full of Dancing
In the Veteran’s Hall in Arcata on a crisp September night, feet were skipping, sliding, stamping and turning. They moved swiftly in cowboy and cowgirl boots, work boots, an occasional Ugg or Keen, sandals, running shoes and the wayward pair of flip-flops. All kinds of feet were promenading all over the place at the…
Good Cop, Badass Cop
DREDD 3D. Remakes — or reboots, as they’re euphemistically called these days — tend to be pretty depressing. From either lack of imagination or cost-cutting in the creative department, Hollywood usually rushes out a hack version of a recent foreign hit (Vanilla Sky, The Ring). Or someone might ill-advisedly take a crack at improving a…
Party Like it’s 1199!
Hear ye, hear ye! Lords and ladies! Knights, wizards, lute-slingers and plague survivors! ‘Tis once again time to polish up your best full metal suit and remind yourself how to correctly drop “doth” and “thou art” into conversations. Whyest? This weekend marks the return of the Excalibur Medieval Tournament and Market Faire, one Humboldt’s top…
Imagine All the Voters …
For an hour on a Monday night, a few hundred people imagined a different America: one where no one went bankrupt because he got sick, where homeowners were bailed out instead of bankers, and where the military was used for defense, not offense. Standing at a podium at Humboldt State University, a small, slim…
O Sister
You hear a lot of old-time music from the American South today. It’s hard to say why variations on early 20th century folk and country rooted in the Appalachians have surged in popularity over the years, but you can point to the soundtrack for the Joel and Ethan Coen film O Brother, Where Art Thou?…
