Top Ten Stories of 2009
Leading news stories of the past year.
Cover Story
The Top 10 Stories of 2009
1. Klamath Settlement About a decade ago, it would be impossible to imagine the agreement that was announced in October. In 2001, you had farmers in the Klamath Basin going rogue, tearing away at the locks that held water from their crops. You had Dick Cheney taking a personal interest in their plight, reaching into…
Man From Eureka Standoff Identified
The man who engaged in a 12-hour standoff with law enforcement last night before shooting and killing himself this morning has been identified as Greg Allen Hawkins, 48, of Peoria, Ariz. The standoff took place at Hawkins’ mother’s home on the 1800 block of Mesa Ave., located on the hill above the Tip Top Club…
Grand Theft Dog
A Humboldt County man has spent the holidays in and around Prescott, Ariz., desperately searching for his beloved Mastiffs, Brandy and Max, who were stolen from his property by a nefarious grifter, according to this story in The Daily Courier . William “Scooter” Reed and his partner, Robin Moberg, own a non-profit alpaca farm in…
Movie Theater King Speaketh
If you’re gonna bitch about the state of our local theaters — the pre-movie commercials, the dearth of foreign and indie fare, the expensive concessions… take your pick — at least be polite. Otherwise your complaints may end up soaking in high-fructose sludge at the bottom of a theater trash can. “We don’t mind constructive…
The Movies to Close
As 2009 becomes history Thursday night, so will one of Humboldt County’s movie venues. The Movies at the Bayshore Mall will close its doors permanently when its lease expires at the end of the year. “Honestly, it’s high time,” General Manager Anibal Polanco said Tuesday afternoon. Attendance had dwindled in recent years to a measly…
Not In Wyoming You Don’t, Sonny
A Wyoming newspaper reports that one of our own knuckleheads escaped Fortuna and was found galavanting on a CLOSED Wyoming highway in the wee hours of Christmas morning with five pounds of pot in his buggy. According to the report, Wyoming CHP — out looking for a missing motorist — stopped the car driven by…
That Was Copenhagen
Throughout most of December, the Journal carried weekly reports from the COP15 Climate Change summit in Copenhagen. (See here and here and here.) These had been sent to us by local residents David Simpson, Jane Lapiner and Dan Ihara, each of whom had dealt with the topic of global climate change in their work –…
Poor Climates
The main outcome of the two week “Climate Summit” was a document called the “Copenhagen Accord.” The two-page document contained approximately 12 paragraphs — not much to show for two years’ work. Expectations leading up to COP 15 alternated from high to low several times. Perhaps they peaked with the arrival of 115 heads of…
Jingle Bells and Disco Balls
Well, Christmastime is here and a new year is just around the corner. Time for hanging with friends and family, preferably in a warm home sitting around a glowing Christmas tree with a cup of eggnog or a hot toddy or some other festive beverage. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are not typically a time…
Battle of Orleans
When the logger from Mark Crawford Logging showed up at the dirt Forest Service spur off Red Cap Road in Orleans at 6:30 a.m. last Wednesday, he encountered the unwelcoming party. They’d been waiting for him since 4 a.m. — an "ad hoc group of Klamath Basin residents from all walks of life … Indians,…
Climategate: Dud
Editor: Traitors? Fraudsters? Hank, I’m surprised at you. One would think the CRU scientists had been caught red-handed indeed. And yet to date there’s no evidence of fraud at all (“Town Dandy,” Dec. 17) The two most hyped examples of alleged fraud (out of thousands of e-mails over years of time) are the code for…
Confessions of a Champagne Snob
It happens every year about this time, in magazines and newspapers, online: an outpouring of effervescent enthusiasm for holiday sparkling wine bargains. "The best of West Coast bubbly has rarely been better," trumpets San Francisco Chronicle Magazine. The online wine merchant www.novusvinum.com features the "Top 20 American Sparkling Wines," from a modest $19 for Francis…
It’s the Food, Stupid
Editor: I agree with many of Bradley Mack’s assessments (“Mailbox,” Dec. 17). The local media does give preference to the service providers over those they supply services for; many of our non-profits practice “politics without principle” and service providers often use injudicious procedures against those they believe can’t fight back. What I don’t agree with,…
Uma Shikuma’s Selections
Continuation — Alex Cline (Cryptogramophone) Percussionist and composer Alex Cline, guitarist Nels’ twin brother, performs with a dynamic quintet including pianist Myra Melford, to execute a challenging and dazzling sum, often unpredictable and wonderfully surprising. The Sun Came Out — 7 Worlds Collide (Sony) This collaborative effort led by singer/songwriter Neil Finn includes members of…
Shut Your Eyes
Editor: Marcy Burstiner’s “Anger Your Readers” (“Media Maven,” Dec. 3) mentioned that the Facebook group description for “Say Goodbye to the Eye (Boycott Advertisers)” initially stated Kevin Hoover’s Arcata Eye should “have no right to exist” for being a community detriment. Those familiar with my activism know this isn’t consistent with my values. I advocate…
Redwood Jazz Alliance’s Top Jazz Sides
Spirit Moves — Dave Douglas (Greenleaf Music) A sublime homage to the all-embracing, pop-inspired spirit of Lester Bowie. This is brass band jazz that inherits and ennobles several different traditions at once. Infernal Machines — Darcy James Argue (New Amsterdam) With his "steampunk" big band Secret Society, Darcy James Argue seamlessly blends post-rock guitar, electronica-inspired…
Everyone’s a Critic
Editor: I feel a desire to offer a bit of literary critique on Mr. Myers’ film reviews (“Filmland”). I often find myself frustrated when reading articles and columns if I feel that a significant improvement could be made, and after this week’s reviews of Invictus and The Princess and the Frog, I am finally of…
Top 10 Missing Link Records
S/T — Frank Fairfield (Tompkins Square) First release from our favorite 24-year-old purveyor of old time feelings. Startling arrangements of classic songs, sometimes haunting, sometimes jolly. River Boat Soul — Pokey Lafarge and The South City Three (Big Muddy Records) Ragtime meets Appalachia meets Delta cotton country blues, but entirely new and all its own.…
Rio Dell D.I.Y.
Editor: I read, with interest, your article entitled “Reinventing Scotia” in the Nov. 26 issue. I was born and raised in Scotia, my father being an employee of the Pacific Lumber Company until his retirement some 15 years ago. We enjoyed the benefits of living in “the company town,” which included no-cost maintenance and repairs…
10 Records You Probably Haven’t Heard
Lumen Tähden — Kuupuu (Time Lag) First proper full-length release from Finland’s Jonna Karanka, mixing muffled sing-song folk, bubbling electronics and jumbled avant-improv in a lo-fi haze. Beautiful and haunting. Flaming Tunes — Gareth Williams and Mary Currie (Life and Living) A reissue (!) of a small-run cassette from the mid-’80s. Williams was the "non-musician"…
Christmas Star — in Spring?
Maybe the author of the Gospel of Luke, written sometime around the year 80, wasn’t paying attention to his sources. Why else would this educated Greek writer get the date of the birth of Jesus so wrong, by linking it to both the census of 6 or 7 (he references Quirinius, governor of Syria from…
more_darling
more darling than spaceships with broken wings rowing…
A Book Clerk’s Top 10
Love In Infant Monkeys — Lydia Millet (Soft Skull) Millet uses the lives of real historical characters and their interactions with animals to create short stories displaying a rare mix of intelligence, humor and emotional resonance, some heartbreaking, some funny, some just weird. Madonna shoots a pheasant on her English estate and muses on the…
Insolvency Resolved
The confession took place, as they do, at a dinner party turned late-night wine-flavored gabfest. The blonde leaned in closer, voice dropping: "I’m overdrawn — again. It’s crazy. If you knew how much I’ve paid in overdraft charges this year …" Others nodded. One whispered a four-figure amount. "It is crazy," she agreed. None of…
Blue Christmas
Previews Opening Wednesday, Dec. 23, is the sequel we’ve all been waiting for: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. This time out, the singing rodents get to cavort with the Chipettes. Rated PG for some mild rude humor. 89m. At the Broadway, Fortuna and Mill Creek. Opening Christmas Day is the multi-Golden Globe nominated Up…
