Transforming Valley West
Big changes are coming to Arcata’s ‘forgotten’ neighborhood
Cover Story
Transforming Valley West
Arcata City Councilmember Kimberley White has a lot to say about Valley West. It is, she says, one of her subjects. After all, Valley West is the place White has called home for 20 years, the place she set down her Humboldt County roots and raised her daughter, and it’s the focus of her work…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Oct. 14
As we ramp up to a weekday Halloween — a Tuesday, no less — we must remember that the entire month of October is open spooky season, and the weekends are our quarry. Tonight is no exception, with local odd pop outfit Cemetery Boys throwing a costume-friendly party at the Miniplex at 9 p.m. Advance…
Music Tonight: Friday, Oct. 13
It’s Halloween Jr., and the last Friday the 13th of this year, in the void shadow of a new moon, no less. There are so many shows happening tonight, so I’m going to snag a few and give you the most basic info because, like the Allman Brothers song goes, I “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No…
Haunted Rail Tour Rolls Out this Weekend
All aboard the terror train! North Coast Repertory Theatre, the Timber Heritage Association and the Clarke Historical Museum have gone off the rails with their terrifying Haunted Rail Tour, opening Friday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, Oct. 14, from 6 p.m. to midnight (continuing Fridays and Saturdays through October, with a Halloween run on Tuesday, Oct.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Oct. 12
The Sanctuary is continuing its run of unique gigs. Tonight’s show is part of the Cozy Classicals series, where, if you come at 6 p.m., you can enjoy a nice vegetarian soup and salad supper before the music. If you have other dining plans, you can enjoy the latter at 7 p.m. Tonight’s artist is…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Oct. 11
Midweek shows are tough to track, but this one at the Miniplex seems promising for any electro audiophiles and found-sound curators out there. Ironing is a solo act out of Gainesville, Florida, whose sound is built on a mixed-media creative process of manipulating various recorded mediums like vinyl records, cassettes and tape loops to create…
Eureka Parking Lot Proponents File More Lawsuits as Initiative Qualifies for Ballot
The great Eureka parking lot war is escalating. Less than a week after the city of Eureka reported that an initiative seeking to block its plans to transform a host of downtown city-owned parking lots into multi-family housing developments has qualified for the November of 2024 ballot, a group of local residents led by Security…
Dell’Arte Lays off Staff, Calls for Donations
On the cusp of its 50th anniversary, Dell’Arte International is apparently in trouble. In a press release the Journal received today, the theater school states it is “unable to overcome critical cash flow issues and must lay off nearly all staff.” The annual holiday show is also set to be cut due to budget. Citing…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Oct. 10
The Miniplex is hosting Latin dance classes with instructor Selma Angelina every Tuesday this month at 8 p.m. for a drop-in price of $20 per class. Then afterward, you can try your moves out during the free dance party hosted by DJ Amaru Shia. I believe they are still doing a pretty mean Taco Tuesday…
Photos: Following Migrations
On Saturday, Sept. 30, the Arcata Playhouse presented its annual Migrations: Walking Together event, winding from Carlson Park in Valley West to the playhouse, with performances en route and at the final stop. The multicultural event featured contributions and performances from Centro Del Pueblo, the Yurok Wellness Coalition, Northcoast Environmental Center and Humboldt Taiko. Photographer Kait…
Music Tonight: Monday, Oct. 9
Rehab is a Georgia hip-hop, rap and country rock band built around rapper and singer Danny Boone. The group came out of the same general cultural gestalt that gave us hybrid white boy/honky rap groups like Bloodhound Gang and I.C.P. If that genre and vibe is of interest to you, head on over to the…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Oct. 8
Portland’s astro-funk trio Sweet N’ Juicy is back in town to spread its fruity jams across the stage at Siren’s Song Tavern at 8 p.m. ($8, plus it’s the eighth of October, a month named after the eighth month of the old Roman calendar, so if you like eights, listen up). The three lads are…
Back Down to the Basement
After a brief run, the Basement was shuttered by the pandemic and the space that once housed Abruzzi’s below Plaza Grill, just under the slope of the Arcata Plaza, spent years dormant. According to the jazz lounge’s manager Dillon Savage, he approached owner Bill Chino about reopening the club after a couple of other ventures…
For the Love of Tacos
Crunchy, soft, drizzled with crema, drenched in hot sauce, layered with asada, pollo, seafood — however you like ’em, you’re sure to find your favorite at Bear River Casino’s Taco Fest, rolling out today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Bear River Casino Resort ($10 and up, free for kids under 12 w/paying adult). This…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Oct. 7
So it turns out that Jerry’s Middle Finger is yet another talented Grateful Dead tribute band of note, named in reference to the missing digit on the late guitarist’s right hand, and not (as I had first assumed) a spectral message from that same late guitarist, aimed toward his endless hordes of imitators and fans as…
Fall Festival Fun in Fortuna
Celebrate the best of autumn and small town living at the Fortuna Apple Harvest Festival happening this Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (free admission). This year’s jubilee takes place throughout Fortuna with six stops in town: Clendenen’s Cider Works, Redwood Village, Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department, Rohner Park, downtown and Table Bluff…
Music Tonight: Friday, Oct. 6
The Eureka Symphony presents its 2023-2024 season premiere at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts at a new, earlier time of 7:30 p.m. The main attraction is a performance of Händel’s Water Music Suite No. 2. Also on the program are pieces by Danish composer Niel Gade and Rainbow Body, by the American Christopher…
Valley West, Cannabis Taxes, Trail Access and Festivals
Long overlooked Valley West in Arcata is seeing changes. We’ll talk about how residents are organizing and and getting heard. We’ve also got an update on Measure S cannabis taxation and great news for folks with mobility issues who want to hit the trails. Finally, get ready to plan your weekend because Humboldt festivals will…
‘The Only Proven Way’
Editor: Bravo North Coast Journal for consistent public-interest reporting revealing the stories behind the mugshots, providing in-depth coverage of local issues, asking questions, questioning the answers and even taking the public’s right-to-know to court. Collaborative NCJ efforts focusing on violence against LGBTQ individuals provided readers with a rare reminder of our county’s abysmal human health…
‘Inevitable Exploitation’
Editor: Thanks to Patty Harvey for her descriptive article about the privatization of Medicare (“California Says No to Privatizing Medicare,” Sept. 21). As noted, privatizing Medicare is already underway with a goal of total implementation in seven years. Corporate greed, detrimental to seniors, sits on our horizon if this is allowed to happen. It bears…
Happy as a Gaper Clam
I said, “Get outta my way, old man. I don’t need your rules. That’s why I’m running past your NO RUNNING sign and diving next to your NO DIVING sign. I’m a rebel and I don’t need you, old man.” At the instant my head hit the bottom of the pool, my consciousness transferred into…
HonK
The Geese It’s a wondrous thing when their migration cycles back to our fields The sky filled with song of renewed faith and hope, Or is that me? A visceral feeling A distant echoing sound that draws me back to self Elevating the beauty that surrounds us to familiar memories The rains come The pastures…
Supes Reimpose Cannabis Tax
Humboldt County cannabis farmers have had a brief reprieve from half of Benjamin Franklin’s famous adage that nothing is certain in life except death and taxes, but that will soon come to an end. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Oct. 3, with Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell recused, to resume collecting an…
Midnight Music
Years ago, I used to listen to more esoteric, dark music. This was probably something to do with age, as one of the ironies of youth is that it often allows for a grim fascination with death and decay because the observer is still cloaked in the bloom of vitality. Or maybe I’m wrong and…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
Our galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants are open late. Presented by Eureka Main Street. ART CENTER SPACE 620 Second St. More than 75 local artists.Featuring Maryann Testagrossa, original linocut prints, limited edition; Regina Case, prints; Kyle Sanders, originals. BELLE STARR CLOTHING 405 Second St. Music by Johnny Myers. BLUE OX BOUTIQUE 515 Second St.…
David’s Chair Blazes Accessible Trails in Prairie Creek Redwoods
Wheelchair access is hard enough to find in our paved world. A park trail threading its way through 1,000-year-old evergreen conifers presents countless obstacles that can keep those with mobility issues from fully enjoying Humboldt’s old growth forests. Fortunately, as time passes, more barriers fall by the wayside. And what better time than a centennial…
I Love Fall and COVID is Not Ruining It, Dammit
The scent of leaves, crisp air, it’s fall — my favorite season and roughly a third of my personality. Oh, you like fall, too? That’s cute. I keep a dedicated room in my house a brisk 58 degrees with a crockpot of hot cider going 24/7 and a Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Crème Brûlée candle…
Intelligence
DUMB MONEY. The big lie or the truth-at-large that remains largely unspoken, is that the stock market is any kind of democratic capitalist enterprise. By the logic of a casino, perhaps: Anyone with money to waste is welcome to come on in; be our guest. Rule No. 1 of the casino being that the house…
Bigger Storms, Poor Oversight Put Dams at Risk
On Sept. 12, storm Daniel overwhelmed two neglected dams in Libya. The flood washed away entire neighborhoods in the coastal city of Derna, killing thousands. Experts warned just last year that lack of maintenance risked failure of the dams, built in the 1970s to allow the development they destroyed. But storm Daniel brought more rain…
‘Offended’
Editor: As a Catholic, I was offended by your criticism of the national coverage that was given to the person who was arrested for indecent exposure and his connection with the organization called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (“A Culture War’s Collateral Damage,” Sept. 21.) I think it is appropriate for the behavior to be…
