Cover Story
The Top 10 Stories of 2021
It is an inescapable truth: COVID-19, as it was last year, is this year’s single most impactful story. Its nasty little fingerprints are everywhere, from our overwhelmed health care system and our struggling businesses to our mourning neighbors and exhausted families. Humboldt County spent the entirety of 2021 in the throes of the pandemic, having…
The California Legislature is back: What to expect in 2022
Another coronavirus variant spreading like wildfire, and another huge state budget surplus: In some ways, 2022 is off to a similar start as 2021. That could carry over to the state Legislature’s new session that started Monday. In addition to the pandemic and surplus, California is dealing with some of the same big issues it…
HDNL to Temporarily Ban Spectators as COVID Cases Surge
The Humboldt-Del Norte League has voted to temporarily bar spectators from attending games amid a local surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, Commissioner Jake Lakin announced Jan. 5. “The number of positive tests being reported from local school districts and recent updates from Humboldt County Public Health (188 new COVID…
Public Health Confirms Another COVID-19 Death, 86 New Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 86 new COVID-19 cases today — making 674 reported so far this week — as well as another related death and one new hospitalization. Today’s cases —which came after a single day record reported yesterday — come after 400 were reported yesterday from testing over the holiday weekend amid news…
Signs of Omicron: HumCo Officials Talk Surging Cases and Staffing Shortages
Today’s closure of McKinleyville Middle School in the wake of significant staffing shortages due to COVID is likely a harbinger of what’s to come in the coming weeks as the Omicron variant makes the rounds in the community. Humboldt County is showing all the classic signs of entering into a surge of COVID cases driven…
COVID Caused Staffing Shortage Closes McKinleyville Middle School
McKinleyville Middle School was closed today due to a COVID-19 caused “significant staffing shortage.” An email from Superintendent Heidi Moore-Guynup went out to parents around 7 p.m. yesterday stating that Dow’s Prairie and Morris Elementary were currently open. “We are hoping to be able to safely return to in-person instruction on Thursday, January 6,” the…
Antoinette Veazey Eastwood Martin: 1927-2021
Antoinette Veazey Eastwood was born in Orlando, Florida on June 2, 1927. At the time of her death, on December 20, 2021, 94-year-old Toni, as she preferred to be called, was living at home in Freshwater, California. She was surrounded by many of her family members, but was still leading the charge as was her…
Public Health Confirms Record 188 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 188 new cases of COVID-19 and one new hospitalization today, a day after reporting the highly contagious Omicron variant has been confirmed to be circulating locally. Today’s cases — a single day record locally to date — come after 400 were reported yesterday from testing over the holiday weekend. For…
Here’s What’s Ahead for California Businesses in 2022
Clogged supply chains. Hiring struggles. New mask rules. A virus that trampled right over return-to-work schedules. Last year was chaotic for many businesses across California. What does 2022 hold? Layered on top of pandemic uncertainty is the question of what policymakers might do for — and to — businesses. “2022 is going to be a…
EPD Identifies Suspect Shot by Police Thursday
The suspect shot by a Eureka police officer during a pursuit Thursday afternoon has been identified as Little Eagle Moon, 29, of Hoopa, according to a press release, which ads that Moon sustained “serious but non-life-threatening injuries.” An officer also received “minor injuries” during the incident, the press release states. According to the release, a…
Public Health Confirms 400 New COVID-19 Cases, Omicron’s Presence in Humboldt
Humboldt County Public Health reported this afternoon that it has confirmed 4oo COVID-19 cases since its last report Thursday, as well as one new hospitalization and another death. The department also confirmed the first cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant locally Today’s tally represents the most cases to be included in a testing report…
UPDATED: Flood Watch in Effect Until 8 p.m., Wind Advisory Until 3 p.m.
A flood watch is in effect from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in parts of northern interior Humboldt County due to the possibility of excessive run off and melting snow causing a “quick rise of streams, creeks and other flood-prone areas,” according to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service. “Creeks and streams…
Community Members Set to Continue Search for Missing Man
The search for a missing Blue Lake man is set to continue this morning, with organizers asking community members to meet at 11 a.m. at the Seascape Restaurant parking lot, where they will be assigned search areas. Hunter Nathaniel Lewis is believed to have entered the ocean in his 15-feet green fiberglass canoe between 10…
NCJ Preview: Behind the Top 10s of 2021
As the year comes to an end, we’re talking about the Top 10 stories fo 2021 from this week’s cover — COVID, Su-Meg, local government and more — and how we came up with our list. That includes how we determined the Top 10 Dick Moves and why we dig into the pettiness. Hit subscribe…
UPDATE: Search and Rescue Effort’s Focus Shifts to North of Elk Head
UPDATE: Part of a missing 21-year-old Blue Lake man’s canoe was found today on the shoreline north of Elk Head, according to a Facebook post by his father. Hunter Nathaniel Lewis is believed to have entered the ocean with his canoe in Trinidad Harbor between 10 a.m. and noon Dec. 30 and hasn’t been seen…
Update: Police Opened Fire During Eureka Pursuit
UPDATE The Eureka Police Department issued a press release tonight confirming that at least one officer fired a firearm during a pursuit that allegedly began after the suspect rammed police vehicles and drove “toward officers” before fleeing the scene, leading to another car crash and, ultimately, a brief multi-agency manhunt that ended with the suspect…
Public Health Confirms 45 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 45 new COVID-19 cases today, as well as three new hospitalizations. Public Health also reported that 11 of the 12 people hospitalized locally since Dec. 17 were unvaccinated. Today’s cases — which make 852 so far this month — come after laboratories processed 477 samples with a test-positivity rate of…
Fortuna Fire’s ‘Fearless Leader’ Set to Retire
With the end of 2021, comes the end of an era for the Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department, which will be bidding Chief Lon Winburn goodbye tomorrow after 37 years of service. Winburn, who has served as chief since 2005, will be feted at noon in the main station on his last day, with the public…
Zero Waste and New Year’s Resolutions
What do the Zero Waste philosophy and New Year’s resolutions have in common? They both come from hope for a better future. Researchers say about 60 percent of us make New Year’s resolutions, but only about 8 percent are successful in achieving them. In terms of reducing waste that contributes to global warming, this is…
Dog Paradise
The inspiration to create a Humboldt Geographic Facebook page came from sharing a few scenic pictures on my personal page. That sparked a friend’s idea to start a separate page just for my pictures. I look back over the couple years the page has been going and I do realize there’s another inspiration to get…
Winter Solstice
Missing starry nights, Behind ever-present clouds Embracing coastlines. Kirk Gothier
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Historians disagree about the legacy of Jimmie Carter, who was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Was he effective or not? Opinions differ. But there’s no ambiguity about a project he pursued after his presidency. He led a global effort to eliminate a pernicious disease caused by the…
Top 10 Dick Moves of 2021
Philosophical question: Does committing a dick move — a petty, selfish chipping away of the social contract that one could have absolutely skipped and been fine — make one a dick forever? Are we our worst dick moves? I think not. Mostly. But if dicks are as dicks do, then 2021 was a real sausage…
A Crab Feast, Lo Mein Style
Crab season has arrived as scheduled, and the catch is quite meaty this year. For some, having crab for Christmas is a wholesome tradition. For me, I can’t picture myself picking stray crab meat out of my Christmas table decorations after I spend so much time setting them up nicely, ha ha! However, I don’t…
Cocktails to Toast the End of 2021
It’s not a great year for hitting the party circuit on New Year’s Eve. But that doesn’t mean you can’t see 2021 out with fancy cocktails. Try your hand at timely mixology with libations inspired by the year we’ve had. It’s been a doozy so be warned, they’re strong. Cheers! The Stolen Election Ingredients: 1…
Sea to Summit: Fickle Hill
Corrina still wanted to ride with me, which was remarkable, considering our last ride was a slightly hellacious, two-day endeavor. This time, we picked a Thursday evening to complete the “Top of the World” Sea to Summit challenge, glad to be ticking one off on a weeknight (“Sea to Summit Part 1: Bald Mountain,” April…
Smith, Chetco Best Bets for Green Water
If your weekend plans involve the pursuit of winter steelhead, you’ll need to point your vehicle north. The quick-clearing Smith and Chetco rivers are currently the only real options for the green water steelheaders crave. All Humboldt rivers are currently high and muddy, and that will likely continue through the weekend. There is a chance…
Top 14 Movies of 2021
As this week’s issue is a Top 10 of 2021 thing, I have been asked to contribute a Top However Many. As such, the following assemblage represents, in part, some of the movies I saw in this endless eyeblink plague year that offered some sense of respite. Not everyone finds solace in the sort of…
The Heroes We Need
There’s no escaping the fact that 2021 has been a trying year. The pandemic has marched relentlessly forward, sending waves of grief, isolation and general hardship in all directions. And with so much of the suffering now largely preventable through vaccination, the fear that hovered over the virus has been largely replaced by a dull,…
