Cover Story
To Stop a Heist
The story begins with a strip club bouncer and an Iraq War veteran meeting in Polekatz, a sprawling 18,000-square-foot bar about 15 miles outside of Chicago with all nude, full-contact lap dances, poor Yelp reviews and a shady reputation. It ended 2,200 miles west, with an FBI agent chasing down the two men and one…
Blue Lake Man Dies in Motorcycle Crash After High-Speed Pursuit
A 26-year-old Blue Lake man died today in a motorcycle crash shortly after law enforcement called off a high-speed pursuit after attempting to pull him over on State Route 299 for reportedly driving in excess of 100 mph, according to a CHP release. The California Highway Patrol reports that a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputy…
How Powerful Lawmakers Kill California Bills Without a Peep
Gun control, school spending, curbs on greenhouse gases: With Democrats holding more power at the Capitol than they’ve had since the 19th century, California’s legislative pipeline is full this year with big, blue-state ideas. In theory, no Democrat’s bill should be left behind. But that’s not what’s happening, and the reason is roiling both sides…
As Chancellor Backs HSU’s Gutting of KHSU, Community Members Look to Purchase the Station
California State University Chancellor Timothy White is supporting Humboldt State University President Lisa Rossbacher’s recent decision to gut local programming on the KHSU radio station, saying it was in the “fiscal interests of the university.” White’s comments came in an April 25 letter responding to Rita Carole, a McKinlevyille resident, who had contacted him 10…
Chinese Comfort Food
The “Secret Menu” at Szechuan Garden (753 18th St., Arcata) might be more accurately titled the Student Menu. Owner Nina Zhao, a native of Shenyang in Northern China who took over the place five years ago, added the page and a half list because so many Chinese and Chinese American students from Humboldt State University…
North Coast Night Lights: Cave Fire Dancer
Photographing a fire dancer this week was a new experience for me, and I was unsure how things would turn out when Chelsea Burns, a local fire dancer, approached me about taking pictures of her as she danced with fire. It sounded like something interesting to photograph in the dark, so I was into it.…
Photos from the Rhody Parade and Salt & Fog Fish Fest
It was a busy weekend in Eureka. Folks were out early Saturday, staking out curbside seating to watch as the annual Rhododendron Parade wound its way through town. Once the bands, VW bugs and flower-powered kinetic sculptures finished the route, it was time to hustle down to Old Town for the inaugural Salt & Fog…
Rico’s Tacos Loses Liquor Licenses after August Cocaine Bust
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has revoked an Arcata taco shop’s liquor license, effective immediately. According to a press release, Rico’s Tacos Taqueria has not contested the revocation, which comes about six months after its owner Ariel Arguellas-Sosa was arrested on suspicion of possession and sales of cocaine and methamphetamine. Agents with the…
Huffman Announces Release of Nearly $30 Million in Fisheries Disaster Funding
More than a year after Congress appropriated the funds, members of the the North Coast’s commercial fishing industry and a local tribe are slated to receive federal disaster support in the coming months, Rep. Jared Huffman announced this morning. “Tribes, hardworking fishermen, their families, and coastal communities have been stuck in limbo for far too…
SECOND UPDATE: Missing Trinity River Swimmer Found
SECOND UPDATE: The man who was swept away after jumping into the Trinity River near Knight’s Bluff was found alive downstream Saturday more than one hour later and was treated for cold exposure, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the sheriff’s office, CHP and the Hoopa Valley Tribal…
HumBug: Spring Bug Break
Spring is finally, really, underway. I took a walk along the Van Duzen River got nearly 100 photos of invertebrate wildlife. There were three different kinds of dragonfly: California darners, variegated meadowhawks and a single female red rock skimmer. This is the third year I’ve photoed the latter species here despite the fact that in…
A Community Remembers Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson was a man of love, compassion and a commitment to peace that never wavered in his later years. Born in San Francisco on May 28, 1929, Thompson died at his Bayside home on Dec. 24 at the age of 89. He graduated from Vista High School in Southern California and went on to…
Music Tonight: Friday, April 26
No Pardon plays the first of a long weekend of shows in celebration of today’s release of its new record Whisper. In addition to a Saturday show at the Westhaven Center for the Arts and a gig on Sunday with Lyndsey Battle and Cory Goldman, the trio is playing a brief in-store set at The…
Lunch in the Lobby
Open for less than a month, Bandit Savory & Sweet (525 Second St., Eureka) is making itself at home in the lobby of the Vance in Old Town, its winking name and vintage aesthetic dovetailing with the revival of the landmark building. You might have sampled the baked goods before at the Friday Night Market.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, April 25
Chicano Batman, the super fun Tropicália-infused soul and pop quartet from Los Angeles, is back for what is sure to be a great show at the Kate Buchanan Room. I would expect this one to reach capacity, which is good, as this group thrives off of a lot of dancing bodies in the room. Brainstory…
Other Losses
Editor: I’ve noticed most of the articles on the closing of KHSU use the football team as an example of the university’s rampant program cuts (“Good Night and Good Luck,” April 18). I’d like to add HSU’s International English Language Institute (IELI) — closed in July of 2018 — to the list of programs gone…
‘Astonished’
Editor: Anyone amused by brazen hypocrisy was astonished when former HSU officials expressed surprise over fatal layoffs at KHSU, (Mailbox, April 18). One former administrator found the layoffs “hard to believe,” apparently forgetting his role overseeing the 1986 landmark policy-change requiring campus employees to sign “at-will” contracts instead of educating them in understanding their due-process rights…
Horse Power
Reviews THE MUSTANG. Hope isn’t the word for it, really, but then one should hardly go looking for hope in a prison movie. (Sorry, Shawshank fans). But The Mustang, the feature debut from Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, contains notes of such delicacy and authenticity, setting connection and kindness against the cruelty and debasement of captivity, that…
‘Duped’
Editor: I have little to add to the chorus of community members protesting the abrupt closure of KHSU except my voice. I have volunteered at KHSU since the mid 1970s, off and on. I have contributed to local programming, contributed financially as a sustaining member and participated in most of the fund drives on air…
The CBD Burger and the Evangelist Editor
The CBD craze has officially come off the rails, veering into territory no wellness supplement should ever traverse. We reluctantly looked the other way as folks began infusing everything from lattes and cookies to personal lubricants and “immunity vaporizers” with cannabidiol, one of the more than 110 cannabinoids in cannabis plants and one that doesn’t…
Now or Never
Editor: Some scientists believe that it is too late — we have already despoiled our planet and we are on a downward spiral ending in the decline of civilization (“Youth Struck,” April 18). But others are more optimistic and believe that it is not too late to stop human-made global warming if we start to…
HSU’s Obligation
Editor: The recent shuttering of KHSU is reflective of a much larger problem with the administration of Humboldt State University. Specifically, a palpable disconnect with the Humboldt county community (“Good Night and Good Luck,” April 18). Most of us are aware of the unresolved homicide of Josiah Lawson. Does not HSU have any obligation; if…
‘Our Day in Court’
Editor: As the reporting by the NCJ over the last few weeks has made clear, District Attorney Maggie Fleming is scared to take the David Josiah Lawson case to trial (NCJ Daily, April 18). It’s understandable that a DA who makes her decisions based on what is politically expedient would be hesitant, as it’s not…
Pour One Out
Less than two months out from the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, controversy is again bubbling up over beer at Arcata Main Street’s fundraiser. The event drew fire last year (“What is Going on with Beer at Oyster Fest?” May 11, 2018) for requiring donations rather than purchasing from local beverage companies and only pouring Redwood…
‘Move On’
Editor: I died once and went to that place of omniscient one-ness with the universe, that place of all-being, all-seeing and all-knowing; one with God. I could see the immensity of the universe, and the minuteness of its components; the complexity and the simplicity of everything, all at once. What I remember most, other than…
In Bloom
It’s the last week of April. May Day is coming and with it comes the right time to watch what is maybe the greatest musical ever filmed, Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer’s The Wicker Man (1973). More importantly, nature gets into the whole blooming concept and the average citizen can expect to get a little…
‘Casually Glorified’
Editor: Thank you Cutcha Risling Baldy for your piece about Seth Kinman and his Silence of the Lambs chairs (“Genocide and Fugly Chairs,” April 11). On a recent trip to Bayshore Mall, as I was walking past the historical photo display in the food court that I normally breeze right by, I happened to look…
Rosé: The Good, the Bad and the Lovely
Spring has (finally) sprung in Humboldt. Every year the parting of the clouds and blooming of the daffodils gets me inspired to wear obnoxious vintage floral prints, Marie Kondo my house and sip on some refreshing rosé. I, like many others, have lived the majority of my life believing that rosé just wasn’t good. Perhaps…
More, Please
Editor: I cut out your article entitled “Looking for Aliens” (Jan. 3) and read it again. I wanted to ask you to help us all to exercise our critical thinking skills and to learn how to appreciate the scientific method with its abilities to separate possibility from probability. As you might know, our world is…
Totally Exonerated
Hey, everybody. Some of you may have already heard that Laura and I have broken up. In our six months together, cohabitating for the last two months, we loved, laughed and, yes, discovered some incompatibilities. I’d like to believe we’ll always be friends but that may take time. You know how it is! And I…
WTF, Barry?
Editor: I always look forward to Barry Evans’ column as one of the highlights of the Journal and took particular interest in “Our Worst Mistake” (April 11), which gave credit for the idea that agriculture produced overpopulation, created property and produced wars to a 1987 thesis by Jared Diamond, with the qualifier: “Building on the…
More on Galleries, Art and Money
Yes, local art sales have slumped and local galleries are closing. From the perspective of a working artist though, I have been amazed that this area has hung on so well so long. The national scene has been in a slow but continual 20-year decline. Of the 12 most substantial galleries I once exhibited in…
In Defense of Bohn
Editor: In regards to your editorial concerning the First District and Rex Bohn (“Sad days in the 1st District,” April 11): “Actions speak louder than words.” And no one’s actions create more love and unity in this entire county than our First District Supervisor Rex Bohn. We can go on and on about all of…
‘Building the Solidarity Economy’
Editor: Thank you so much for your story about the Humboldt Area Foundation Social Justice Donor’s Circle and for including Cooperation Humboldt’s work in your coverage (“Looking Upriver,” April 4). Cooperation Humboldt exists to build a solidarity economy on the North Coast by supporting existing cooperative efforts and create new solutions where needed. A solidarity…
Just Joking
Related Stories
‘Not True’
Editor: Concerning the letter from Rick Brennan, of Eureka, (Mailbox, March 28) I was saddened at the level of venom that was in Mr. Brennan’s letter. I follow the news pretty carefully and, although I read that Congresswoman Omar had called out the America Israeli Public Affairs Committee for the level of influence it has…
Day Fliers and Night Lighters
Between the raindrops Despite the dreary weather, life must go on. Eager to get along with their lives, our local insects show up even for the brief patches of sunshine that occasionally grace my backyard. Mostly disdained by the local honeybees, oxalis, dandelions and English daisies draw a crowd. Aside from the digger bees mentioned…
‘An Academic Crime’
Editor: I was a volunteer producer for KHSU and am faculty in the Communications Department at HSU. In their “reorganization” argument, the main points were cost and student involvement. My show Immigrant Voices cost nothing and involved three DACA students as guests, six as translators and four as vocal talent. One issue not yet raised…
Ghost Radio
Mechanical music, the sound of a ghost radio station broadcast by a specter ship sailing the radio waves, no soul aboard, ghost boat steered by ghost engineers. Opposite of pirate radio. The program stumps along on untied Frankenstein boots. No announcements in the holes between the stories, only machine music played for Longer than it…
‘A Giant Middle Finger’
Editor: The web page of the California State University system states that its mission is, among other things: “To provide public services that enrich the university and its communities.” The CSU mission statement goes on to state that the university system: “Serves communities as educational, public service, cultural and artistic centers in ways appropriate to individual…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the U.S., the day after Thanksgiving typically features a spectacular shopping orgy. On “Black Friday,” stores sell their products at steep discounts and consumers spend their money extravagantly. But the creators of the game Cards Against Humanity have consistently satirized the tradition. In 2013, for example, they staged a Black…
‘Profoundly Disappointed’
Editor: On the loss of local programming at KHSU, the closing of the Third Street Art Gallery and the end of the Lumberjacks football team: I am so sad and profoundly disappointed. I am ashamed of the current administration of this university. They have chosen to believe that balancing the budget is their only responsibility…
