Cover Story
Trial by Fire
The morning sun warms California’s high desert, launching a clear spring day. Behind high walls at The Nurturing Nest, across from a burbling mineral pool, a small group of men and women roll up yoga mats and arrange themselves in a semi-circle. Their week at this tranquil retreat is ending and a counselor seeks final…
COVID Claims Two More HumCo Residents
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed two more COVID-19 deaths since its last report July 6. Four new hospitalizations were also reported but, according to a state database, 13 people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including three under intensive care. The deaths reported today are Humboldt County 150th…
UPDATE: ‘We are on A1’s Time’: Another Release Try is Set for Today
SECOND UPDATE: Another release attempt is now scheduled for Thursday, with monitoring starting around 5 a.m. UPDATE: As of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, A1 was still in the enclosure overlooking perched on the edge of a rolling prairie in Redwood State and National Parks. According to a post from the Northern California Condor Restoration Program around…
Photos: 55th Annual Annie and Mary Day
While fewer people than last year showed up for Blue Lake’s 55th annual Annie and Mary Day on a perfect weather day on Sunday, everyone present seemed to share a positive attitude. (And despite the ongoing pandemic, very few were wearing masks.) The day featured most of the usual participants in Blue Lake’s small-town parade…
Ten in a Row and Feeling Like a Million Bucks: Crabs Keep On Winning
A busy week for the Humboldt Crabs wrapped with the team winning their 10th game in a row against the Menlo Park Legends. The Crabs have been perfect since returning from their five game road trip in late June. After game two of the Crabs’ series against the Solano Mudcats was rained out, the final…
Fortuna Police Investigating Alleged Hate Crime
The Fortuna Police Department is investigating allegations of a hate crime after a trans man reported being harassed and threatened at the Dollar General last week. According to Lt. Matt Eberhardt, the man came into the police department around noon on July 7 and reported that the evening prior, around 7 p.m., he had been…
‘Critically Low’: Blood Bank Puts Out Urgent Call for Donors
The Northern California Community Blood Bank is putting out an urgent call for donors today, saying a series of factors have created a critial situation for patient care on the North Coast. Blood bank CEO Kate Witthaus noted in a news release that some trauma centers have been forced to close their doors under due…
Mary Frances Cooper Frost: 1954-2022
Our beloved Mary Frances Cooper Frost passed away on July 6, 2022, at her home in McKinleyville, California. Mary was a life-long resident of Humboldt County; born in Eureka, California, to Bronte and Clara Cooper. She was the middle sibling of five. Her dad worked in the timber industry and her mom was a teacher.…
Photos: Sand Sculpture Kick-off
On Saturday, five teams of artists working in wet sand gave live sculpting demonstrations as the month-long Dispersed Sand Sculpture event got underway at the ocean beach west of the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center. Sponsored by Friends of the Dunes, the 27th annual Sand Sculpture Festival again invites sculpting teams to participate during July while…
Senior Community Plans Detoured by Cal Poly Humboldt’s Land Purchase
A local nonprofit’s plans to build a senior community on a property in Arcata has hit a “bump in the road” after Cal Poly Humboldt purchased the 16-acre site it had been negotiating to buy. According to statement from Life Plan Humboldt — which is aiming to develop “Humboldt County’s first resident-led, life plan senior…
Fourth California Condor Readied for Release (with Video)
The Northern California Condor Restoration Program is readying to release a fourth California condor Tuesday to join three others currently flying free in the skies over Humboldt County. Known as A1, the young male’s first out-of-enclosure debut was delayed by a faulty satellite transmitter, which was replaced last week (see video below). If all goes…
NCJ Preview: Firefighter PTSD, Auditor-Controller Deal, Boozy Summer Pie
The wildfires aren’t just devastating our landscapes, they’re taking a massive toll on the people who fight them. This week we’re talking about the rising PTSD crisis among Cal Fire firefighters and what’s being done to combat it. And the county has struck a deal to shorten Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’ lame duck time. We’ll…
Sheriff’s Office Investigating Anti-Semitic Flyers with State, Federal Agencies
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is working with state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate a rash of anti-Semitic materials that have been distributed in the area in recent days. “I would like to thank the numerous members of our community who immediately notified my office upon finding these materials,” Humboldt County Sheriff William…
Karuk Tribe Official Brings Traditional Knowledge to Federal Wildfire Commission
The director of the Karuk Tribe’s Natural Resources Department was named July 7 to the Biden-Harris administration’s Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, which is tasked with recommending policies and strategies to better prevent, mitigate, manage and recover from wildfire to Congress. Bill Tripp, a Karuk Tribal member, brings with him traditional knowledge passed down…
Massive Fire Destroys Trailers Donated for Betty Kwan Chinn Housing Project
A massive fire at the foot of Hilfiker Lane in Eureka just before 12:30 a.m. today destroyed six modular trailers donated to local philanthropist Betty Kwan Chinn by PG&E for a housing project and damaged another five at the site, all of which will need to be demolished. According to Humboldt Bay Fire, initial units…
Senator McGuire Announces $1 Million Investment in Arcata Ballpark
Prior to Wednesday night’s Crabs game, state Sen. Mike McGuire announced the state of California is investing $1 million into the Arcata Ballpark. McGuire told the crowd that the funds would be used to update disability access, construct a new plaza in front of the ballpark and to build a new facade. After receiving the…
Patrick H.B. Porter: 1952-2022
Heaven welcomed a new angel on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Patrick H.B. Porter was born in Los Angeles on June 7, 1952, to a family of writers, artists, readers and theater people. He grew up in Echo Park in the Silverlake area, as an only child with a vivid imagination. He read, drew, created, wrote…
What if we boycott the 4th?
Because why have imitation bomb noise In a world where bombs and land mines destroy lives daily? Because basic rights for women have been cancelled And Queer rights are next. Because billionaires play with rockets While poor people sleep in cars And even the professional class can lose everything to a hospital bill. What if…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): My readers and I have collaborated to provide insights and inspirations about the topic “How to Be an Aries.” Below is an amalgam of my thoughts and theirs—advice that will especially apply to your life in the coming days. 1. If it’s easy, it’s boring. —Beth Prouty. 2. If it isn’t…
Paz Dominguez Out as Auditor-Controller
Just weeks after a decisive election loss to challenger Cheryl Dillingham, embattled Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez has negotiated a separation agreement under which the county will pay her more than $90,000 for leaving office early. Under the terms, Paz Dominguez — who in her single term in office became one the most recognizable…
There Ain’t No Cure
Every week it’s more of the same. I tell myself that I will write something cheerful and light, then, without fail, the vast and seething continent on whose western edge we all live churns up some fresh, manmade horrors to bloody up the news cycle again. A mass shooting at a family-filled holiday parade, another…
Strawberry Romanoff Cream Pie
For a simple summer dessert, strawberries Romanoff has elbow-glove style. The name hints at Russian aristocracy to which it has no actual ties, though the sketchy Old Hollywood restaurateur after whom it’s named supposedly traded on the association and lifted the recipe from the famed Escoffier. It’s kind of the perfect scammer backstory for humble…
Arts! Arcata
Celebrate the visual and performing arts in Downtown Arcata during Second Friday Arts! Arcata. Enjoy a lively night market of local art vendors, music and fun in the plaza center circle, celebrating arts and shopping in stores downtown. This week, Shoshanna leads a ballgown stroll starting at 6 p.m. at the center of the plaza.…
Losing Their Marbles
The month of July just got a lot more colorful. The World’s Biggest Marble Hunt is guaranteed to bring people from all over to find hidden blown glass marbles throughout Humboldt County. They’re exquisite work of art you can hold in the palm of your hand and hunting them may become your favorite summer activity.…
Pacific Halibut Bite Remains Strong
Ocean conditions over the long weekend were just about perfect, and there were no shortage of holiday boaters taking advantage of the flat-calm seas while targeting Pacific halibut and rockfish. There were plenty of rockfish limits from Shelter Cove to Crescent City, but the halibut again garnered most of the attention, especially out of Eureka.…
Interceptor’s Fumble
In the strange chambers of my heart, there is a special place for action movies and my beloved sub-genre, the schlocky action movie. (It’s next to the spot for teen Shakespeare adaptations and only God will judge me.) In the days of rewinding rented video tapes, one mostly had to choose between a good script…
The Supreme Court as Putin
Editor: The U.S. Supreme Court just made a ruling that negates Roe v Wade and turns the matter of abortion back to the states (“After Roe,” June 30). What has been accepted as the law of the land for nearly 40 years has been overturned. What we have here is akin to Vladimir Putin’s attack…
Finding Humboldt Bay
The popular myth about Humboldt Bay, one that I’ve been guilty of promoting, says that Josiah Gregg “discovered” the bay in 1849 after a tortuous overland trek from near present-day Helena, resulting in the first ship, the Laura Virginia, entering it on April 14, 1850. (I discussed Gregg’s expedition in Josiah Gregg in California, April…
