Cover Story
Top 10 Stories From 2016 in Humboldt
Every year our editorial team collaborates to discuss the year’s top stories, compiling those we thought had the most profound and lasting impact on our community. Exactly a year ago, we agreed that 2015 was a “rough year” on the North Coast, with many deaths due to drownings, suicides and homicides, and we offered our…
Duck!
Humboldt County’s latest visiting celebrity has a red head, greyish back and pale saddle on its bill. Birders from across the country have been visiting to snap pictures of the common pochard, first spotted Dec. 20 in Freshwater Lagoon, near Orick. The pochard, which is native to Europe and Asia, rarely makes its way to…
Huffman Urges Obama to Ban New West Coast Drilling
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman today brought back legislation that would ban new gas or oil drilling leases off the West Coast in a move his office said would help permanently protect the environment, jobs and coastal economies. Huffman was joined by 14 other lawmakers in reintroducing the West Coast Ocean Protection Act on the…
Return of the Great Gray Owl
Prior to last winter, it had been 30 years since the last sighting of a great gray owl locally (both times in Redwood National Park). And now we have another one here to make it two winters in a row. Seeing the owl was quite a gift in between continual snow/rain showers on Monday, Jan.…
Final Numbers for County Cannabis Applications Show Late Push
Almost one-third of the total commercial cannabis permit applications filed with the County of Humboldt in 2016 were filed on deadline day, according to numbers from the cannabis services division of the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department. As of the Dec. 30 deadline, a total of 2,334 applications had been filed. Eight hundred and…
First Fatal Car Crash of Year Suspected to Be DUI
A 52-year old Eureka man was Humboldt’s first road death of 2017. The California Highway Patrol reports that at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1 the man, who has not been named, rolled a GMC Sierra off Mountain View Road near Kneeland. He was ejected and fatally injured; his passenger, also injured, walked several miles…
Black and White and Tough All Over
Every Tuesday night in January at 6:30 p.m. the Humboldt County Library presents its Hard Times and Happy Endings film series with comedies that got Americans through some lean years (free). Kick off the journey on Jan. 3 with Sullivan’s Travels (1941), hosted by Bob Doran. Preston Sturges’ satirical movie tells the rambling tale of…
Update: All Hands at Last Night’s Waterfront Fire
UPDATE WITH PHOTOS: Humboldt Bay Fire is still investigating the cause of last night’s Eureka waterfront fire. This afternoon, firefighters were still on site dealing with the aftermath. Photographer Mark McKenna shot the scene from the ground and above. Scroll down for the slideshow at the bottom following the official press release. Humboldt Bay Fire…
Crab Fishermen in West Coast Ports Pull Pots in Solidarity with Humboldt
A week’s worth of negotiations have failed to break the stalemate between Humboldt Dungeness crab fishermen and the Pacific Group, which locally owns Pacific Choice Seafood. Last week, Pacific Group announced it was lowering its buying price for crab from $3 per pound to $2.75. Fishermen in District 7 — which stretches south from Humboldt Bay’s…
McClain Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – The family of a man shot dead by a Northern California police officer settled a wrongful death suit Thursday after a jury found the officer and victim equally negligent in the fatal shooting last month. Eureka police officer Stephen Linfoot shot and killed Thomas “Tommy” McClain, 22, during a late-night confrontation…
County Public Works Hoping for a Hail Mary with Gas Tax, Emergency Funding
Still around $200 million in the hole for deferred maintenance on county roads and other infrastructure projects, the Humboldt County Department of Public Works is looking for alternate measures to fund road repair in 2017. Those measures include emergency funding from the state and the possible passage of a state transportation bill that could raise…
NYE at RampArt Skatepark
Parents, celebrate the New Year with abandon. RampArt Skatepark’s Overnight Lock-In New Year’s Eve will entertain the kids from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. ($15). Skate ramps, games, movies, breakfast and peace of mind all included.
Man Found in Manila Dunes Confirmed Drowning Death
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s office has confirmed that the young man found dead on the wave slope near the Ma-le’l Dunes in Manila on Dec. 26 is a drowning victim, believed to be the sixth such death in 2016. The coroner’s office, which conducted an autopsy today, is asking for the public’s help in making a…
NYE Speakeasy at the Arcata Playhouse
The Arcata Playhouse rings in the New Year with music, theater and dancing at Speakeasy and the Conglomerates on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. ($20, $18 members, $99 table of four-includes four drink tickets).
The Handmaiden at The Miniplex
On Friday, Dec. 30, catch an aesthetically gorgeous tale about the art of the con that takes an unexpected turn in 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea when The Handmaiden plays at The Miniplex at 8 p.m. ($8).
New State Laws in 2017
With the New Year comes new laws, and 2017 is ushering in a number of changes that will impact everything from gun sales to gender-neutral bathrooms. The following is a partial list looking at some of the new laws going into effect this upcoming year. Distracted driving New rules on the books will allow drivers…
Super Moon Over Eureka
What was Super wasn’tthe size (it was waning)or the brightness (though it shonelike a torch through my skylight,pulling me in a human tide to the roof) —no, what was Super wasthat you could see it! Clear sky!And a few planets —a nd wasthat Rigel, there in Orion’s foot?(Where is Barry Evans when you need him?)…
‘An American Tragedy’
Editor: Mr. Brennan’s letter (Mailbox, Dec. 15) shows how democracy fails when the electorate is uninformed and unwilling or unable to think. Our system led to the election of a man who spent eight years spreading a racist lie intended to delegitimize the first elected mixed race president; a man who has left behind a…
Smoke, Mirrors and Dogs
Editor: The Journal’s coverage of the Dec. 6th EPD’s volley of bullets in downtown Eureka gives cause for concern (Dec. 15). Presented as three articles, the coverage is one story. The article titled “Escalation” would be better named “Smoke.” Blaming “escalating violence on everything from drug culture to a general disregard for human life,” it…
Grows and Flows
Editor: On Dec. 8, NCJ ran an advertisement for Wonderland Nursery featuring a map of Humboldt County with a green spot marking each known marijuana grow with commercial cannabis registrations or applications submitted. On the same map are barely visible blue squiggly lines indicating creeks and streams. Sit down with a black pen and trace…
Clarification
A story headlined “44” in the Dec. 15 edition of the North Coast Journal used information gathered from a number of unofficial sources familiar with the ongoing Critical Incident Response Team investigation into a Dec. 6 Eureka Police Department officer-involved shooting. We did our best to verify and corroborate the information, and only printed things…
Top 10 Dick Moves
Some ill deeds, large or small, illegal or just plain wrong, go unpunished. This year had its share of shady deals and self-serving choices, not to mention a few jackasses who seemed to do wrong for no damn reason. Here we pay tribute to 10 jerks who made us roll our eyes, curl our lips…
All the Fake News You Can Smoke
As babies born at the beginning of the millennium prepare to take their driving tests, the rest of us, collectively feeling our age and lack of accomplishments, might be crafting New Year’s resolutions to become stronger, thinner, more organized and fluent in Portuguese. This year, it will be different. No, not because we’ve found a…
Top Five
A simple, unwritten rule of this organization holds that a “request” from the editor shall not go un-granted. For the uninitiated, the editor is a fearsome figure: “dictate” or “directive” or “command one would use in training a canine” might be more accurate in context. So when word came down that the editor would like/insists…
Seedy in a Good Way
Behind my culinary endeavors people expect to see an Italian grandmother on whose knees I learned to cook. My Italian nonna, however, died when I was not yet 2 years old, and my Croatian grandmother never invited me to cook with her, so all the heartwarming stories of cozy cooking sessions across generations that I…
The 10 That Got Away
Another year is behind us and, fortunately, another in front of us. When we look back to take stock of the year we’re leaving, it’s easy to focus on the times in which life had its bloody way with us. It’s less easy to remember the multitude of small and daily joys we experienced throughout.…
Peace out, 2016
2017 is nearly here and like Niners fans in August, we’re cautiously optimistic. But for Dec. 31, 2016? We’re gonna party like it’s 1999 — like Prince, Bowie and George would want us to. Absynth Quartet New Year’s Eve party is at the Arcata Theatre Lounge ($18, $14 advance) with doors at 8 p.m. Jenny…
