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Top 10
A new year should be seen as a time of hope, a chance to pause, reflect and to set our sights on becoming better people and a better community. When we look back on 2018, we recall times of intense division — we squabbled over land uses, political campaigns, recovery services and criminal justice. There…
Top 10 Dick Moves of 2018
Listen, it has been a year. You’d think the dick moves on the national stage would overshadow us but not so. Looking back on 2018, we saw a bevy of folks making classic dick moves — selfishly and flagrantly doing wrong because, well, they could — running the gamut from racism to bad manners with…
Surf’s Up, California: With 2019, Come New Laws
Hundreds of new laws took effect in California today, regulating everything from drinking straws and bicycle helmets to worker pay and kids’ meals. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the important, noteworthy and quirky things that took effect New Year’s Day. Minimum Wage Hike: As the state continues its march toward a $15 minimum…
2018: HumCo’s Year in Photos
It’s been quite a year. We’ve gathered, celebrated, protested, marched, mourned, reveled, danced, politicked and raced. And for much of it, local photographer Mark Larson has been there to document our community as it came together. Here’s a look back on the year, with some of Larson’s favorite photographs from 2018.
State Staff Recommends Funding Final Leg of Bay Trail
Folks eagerly awaiting the completion of the Humboldt Bay Trail got a bit of a New Year’s gift this morning with the county’s announcement that state staff is recommending allocating a $13.3 million grant to finish the last 4-mile stretch of waterfront trail. The recommendations will come before the California Transportation Commission at its Jan.…
Sandwich Craft
After months and years of wishing, manifesting, prayer and vision boards failed to yield a deli within medium-heel walking distance of the Journal offices, I was about to move on to witchcraft. Then Delish on 5th (440 F St.) opened up in Old Town with its case full of cured meats and cheeses, for which…
Cancellation of Eureka’s Women’s March Goes National
News that organizers of Eureka’s Women’s March have canceled this year’s event amid concerns that past incarnations have been “overwhelmingly white” have gained national attention. Today, The Washington Post, Fox News, Newsweek, Slate, The Hill, Breitbart and other media outlets have all published stories about local organizers’ decision. The 2017 Women’s March in Eureka drew…
HumBug: Insect Armageddon
I have had a lifelong interest in insects, collecting, observing, studying, and photographing them for more than 60 years. Looking back, I’ve noticed progressively fewer insects around my porch lights at night and far fewer splattered across the windshields of my various cars. While my evidence is merely anecdotal, others are making rigorous studies of…
Let’s Make it a Good One
Shopping, parties, out of town guests. The end of the year is a flurry of “too much.” After the frenetic pace and over indulgence of the last days of December, the beginning of the year is when we slow down, take deep breaths and an inventory of where we’ve been, where we are and where…
Landslide Closes Down 299 in Trinity County
State Route 299 remained closed this morning after a landslide came down on the roadway around 7:45 p.m. the night before about 3 miles west of Junction City in Trinity County. About 9 a.m., Caltrans reported that “the slide was still active” and there was “no ETA for opening.” Message signs had been turned on…
New Year’s at Mazzotti’s
Say goodbye to 2018 and get ready for all the good coming at ya in 2019 at New Year’s at Mazzotti’s, Monday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m. at Mazzotti’s on the Plaza ($10). Live music and dancing for the 21 and up crowd with Lone Star Junction, Ghost Train and DJ Vinyl Ritchie.
Coast Guard Members to Get Paid Despite Shutdown, for Now
The U.S. Coast Guard has informed its service members — including more than 200 in Humboldt County — that they will receive paychecks as scheduled Dec. 31 after a last-minute deal was reached with the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security officials to find a way for the Coast Guard to cut paychecks despite…
Reports Find Cannabis Bank Infeasible; Five Things You Need to Know About Public Banking in California
Once an idea batted around mostly in Occupy Wall Street circles, public banking is attracting a surge of interest among policymakers in several states, including California. “We must break Wall Street’s chokehold on state finance and develop our own state bank,” Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom said on the campaign trail. If California had a bank controlled…
NYE at the Historic Eagle House
The Historic Eagle House is the site for NYE 2019 ~ A Roaring ’20s Gals & Gangstas Gala Monday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. ($30, $25). Hosted by MC Lady Flavah with music and dancing with Worthy (Dirtybird), Object Heavy, DJ Marjo Lak and Basstard. Plus a midnight aerial performance, toast and balloon drop. Ages…
Swing in the New Year
With Monday Night Swing & Redwood Fusion’s New Year’s Eve Dance 2019 on Monday, Dec. 31 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Redwood Raks World Dance Studio ($12). This party’s got everything: DJs in two rooms, photo booth, vintage costume contest, Martinelli toast and balloon drop at midnight. All ages.
Brown Commutes Sentences of Two Local Women Convicted of Murder
Among the 131 people who had their criminal sentences commuted by Gov. Jerry Brown on Christmas Eve was Dianna Mae Preston, a Trinidad woman who came to be known as the “vigilante granny” for chasing down and fatally shooting a Eureka man she wrongly believed had molested her granddaughter. Brown set a record for pardons…
North Coast Night Lights: The Changing Milky Way
I think many people take the night sky for granted, not realizing all that is happening in our view. It’s the night sky, what is there to think about, right? When the weather is clear, it is full of stars, there is a moon, which is probably full or else it’s a crescent, and maybe…
Yelp Reviews of Christmas Dinner at Carol’s House
Scott P. ★★★★★ Amazing!!! This was hands-down the best Christmas dinner ever. The ham was — sorry, Gramma, RIP — even better without the pineapple and maraschino cherries. The conversation was excellent and even though we disagreed, I felt real love and connection for everyone. The memory of stories from the elders, catching up with…
Iowa
We were rich as sin Shakespearean fools So we bought ourselves An enchanted prairie >Lie in that prairie Just in the center of that prairie (Where bottle gentian Throws a punch like a priest) It will tell you The exact truth The chickens believe They have found the home of the Common ancestor In vain…
Small, Slow-moving Targets
Rainy day locals Head’s up: It’s tick season again. It seems they like damp weather. My archives show photos of them primarily in April to May and December to January. In the last week, I’ve pulled one off a dog and one off a friend who had one on her arm. Even if you haven’t…
‘Housing Debacle’
Editor: Terrific expose (“The Housing Games,” Dec. 13). Please do more collaborations with students! Sharing details of this crisis has now placed the burden firmly on the shoulders of our whole Humboldt County community. Are there those among us who can see the future we are walking into if we don’t address this issue quickly?…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I suspect that in 2019 you’ll be able to blend a knack for creating more stability with an urge to explore and seek greater freedom. How might this unusual confluence be expressed in practical ways? Maybe you’ll travel to reconnect with your ancestral roots. Or perhaps a faraway ally or influence…
Ghosting 2018
It’s the last week of the year and you know what? I hate goodbyes. I hate them immensely and will duck out of a good time like the house is on fire if I am ever put on the spot to eulogize the evening. So I won’t say anything more here and instead let the…
The Simple Pleasure of Lentils
On New Year’s Eve, a steaming pot of lentils with whole sausages and slices of traditional cotechino, large pork sausage, was always on the dinner menu at home in Perugia, Italy. In preparing this festive comfort dish, my mother followed a tradition meant to bring prosperity, as lentils have come to symbolize coins. As a…
Farm Bill Caps Historic Year for Cannabis
You may have missed it among headlines about the looming government shutdown and plunging stock markets, but when President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill on Dec. 21, he officially removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. The legislation, pushed hard by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), officially distinguishes hemp from marijuana, its…
‘I’m the Monster’
Francine Schulman has forgiven the man who murdered her 14-year-old daughter and left her alone and bleeding on the South Jetty. In fact, it’s taken nearly 25 years but Schulman says she now feels it is time for Thomas Jerome Dunaway to be released from state prison, where he’s been held since June of 1997.…
Stand-out Movies of 2018
Reviews I’ve been burning down what little is left of 2018, using ethanol for an accelerant as is my wont. But I’ve also, after all this time, been watching The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. I resisted it for so long partially because its wildfire popularity and my sullen contrarianism seemed impossibly incompatible, and…
The Grifter in Chief
History will remember 2018 as the year it became increasingly clear that a grifter — and likely a felonious one — is living in the White House. No matter what you think of tariffs, border walls and tax cuts, there should no longer be any illusions: What we’re seeing isn’t normal, or the product of…
Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org 707 BAR (formerly Steve and Dave’s) First and C streets. Barry Evans photography. Music by Dr. Squid. A TASTE OF BIM 613 Third St. Maggie Draper,…
