Cover Story
Unleashed
Trinidad Beach. Low tide. A pair of marine biology students measure tide pool lengths and depths. A couple wanders behind a haystack rock for a romantic moment. Children check out sea urchins and starfish, firmly attached to damp rocks. Sudden chaos. Two dogs race at each other from opposite ends of the beach. Barking wildly.…
Pelican Bay Isolation Case In Court
Oral arguments begin at 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Oakland in the Pelican Bay State Prison solitary confinement case. Ruiz v. Brown, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights last year on behalf of prisoners, alleges that long-term confinement of prisoners inside “secure housing units” (SHU) “is inhumane and debilitating” and psychologically…
Eureka SciFi Writer In L. Ron Contest
Stephen Sottong, who lives in Eureka, will be whooping it up this April with other winners in the 29th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators Of The Future Contest’s big ceremony in Hollywood. No, he does not have to join the Scientologists to be honored, Sottong said by phone today. “They do try and…
Paying More Can Pay Off
Here’s one that might be of interest to Eureka voters: Costco has managed to increase profits at the very same time that its top executive is calling for a higher minimum wage, the Huffington Post is reporting. Paying good money and offering benefits like health insurance can reduce turnover and build strong businesses, CEO Craig…
$5,000 To Catch Cable Vandal
Suddenlink is offering a $5,000 reward to whoever brings in the loathesome creature(s) cutting fiber optic lines up and down Humboldt. Press release: Suddenlink Offers $5,000 Reward Vandals Cut Fiber Lines Three Times in Last Five Days EUREKA, Calif. (March 12, 2013) – Suddenlink announced today that it is offering a $5,000 reward for…
Inmate Suicide
Forty-six-year-old Jose Fernandez-Moreno, the inmate found unconscious inside the Humboldt County jail last Friday, March 8, with a bed sheet tied around his neck, died yesterday at St. Joseph’s Hospital. (See Sheriff’s news release, below). This is the second suicide (and second death) at the jail this year. On Jan. 17, a 56-year-old male inmate…
Wage Hike Proposal Headed to Eureka City Council
Here’s a ray of hope for people working at Eureka’s Taco Bell. Or Wal-Mart. Or any other business* in the city that pays workers as little as the law will tolerate: A petition to boost Eureka’s minimum wage to $12 an hour has received enough valid signatures to be presented to the City Council at…
Jerks Stole Your Connection
Well, you can’t very well blame Suddenlink for this one. Suddenlink users across the Humboldt land — or in Trinidad and the Eel River Valley, at least — suffered internet outages today because, says the Sheriff’s Office, somebody cut and run with the company’s fiber optic cables serving those areas. Apparently, the dirty dipper(s) cut…
Old Town Carriage Co. Sold
These are the final days of a familiar pair — or pair of pairs — in Eureka. Marty L’Herault, he of the dapper hats and Old Town tales, has finally sold the Old Town Carriage Co. On March 25, he turns over the company, the horses, the rig and all the rest to the mysterious…
The Fair Coup
Editor: Ryan Burns’ “Ferndale Gothic” (Feb. 28) gives excellent coverage of the happenings at the Humboldt County Fair. There has been a virtual coup by the Humboldt County Fair Board, and, with the exception of the outstanding reporting by the Ferndale Enterprise, there has been little to alert Humboldt County of what is going on. There…
Arts! Arcata March 2013
Arts! Arcata takes place on Friday, March 8, 6-9 p.m. in and around downtown Arcata. ABRUZZI 780 Seventh St. Live music. ARCATA ARTISANS COOPERATIVE 883 H St. Featuring textiles and beading by Oceana Madrone, ceramics and jewelry by Gilbert Castro, glasswork and watercolors by Susan Morton. Wine served benefits Humboldt Community Breast Health Project.…
For Love and Cinema
Reviews AMOUR. An open letter to the loud-voiced guy (and his giggling companions) who attended Sunday’s matinee at the Minor and responded as such: “Three hours for no resolution?! Yeah, French films RULE!” (I’ve added caps and italics to indicate sarcastic emphasis, possibly also eye-rolling.) First off, writer-director Michael Haneke is actually Austrian. Pointing this…
Samba + Love
Samba + love = SambAmore. That’s the derivation of the name for Arcata’s drum/dance/music ensemble, a 10- to 25-piece outfit that came out of the even larger Brazil/Mardi Gras-inspired Samba da Alegria that plays at the North Country Fair. Jesse Jonathan founded the group around five years ago starting with samba and drawing on…
Waiting for Answers
We want to give readers an update on an incident that happened Feb. 22 in the parking lot of the Humboldt County Library, reported in last week’s paper, especially since it has become the topic of much discussion on the Journal website and in this week’s letters to the editor. Journal Editor Carrie Peyton…
Cops and Cameras
Editor: Regarding Carrie Peyton Dahlberg’s article, the only reason the epithet “People’s Republic” can be used pejoratively in a democratic republic is because it connotes the totalitarian policies of the Chinese state, in which censorship of the media figures largely. As a “redneck Republican from Fortuna,” I hope Officer Drake Goodale believes his job is…
God and Government
Editor: In line with Burstiner’s excellent article, “The Bully Pulpit,” about Mayor Jager and the separation of church and state, Bill Moyers (Moyers and Company, KEET) interviewed author Susan Jacoby about her book The Great Agnostic. I encourage everyone to watch this on line. The agnostic is Robert Ingersoll (1833-99), a man much ahead of…
Fire Wasn’t Trivial
Editor: I was part of the initial attack crew responsible for the successful suppression of the July 2012, “Spanish Flat” wildfire caused by Mr. Evans’ careless use of fire on the Lost Coast (“The Fireball,” Feb. 21). I write with 25 years experience as a volunteer wildland firefighter in the Mattole River watershed and also…
No Lady Parts? Hmmm
Editor: I am writing in reference to “Abortion Prayers Unfazed,” Feb 21. I know that anyone who serves in a public office can do what they want in their spare time. However, it kind of makes me wonder why Lance Madsen, one of our council members, wants to sit out in the weather — when he…
America The Possible: Manifesto For A New Economy
James Speth is a veteran environmentalist, and this is the latest book by an environmental veteran about how Americans can successfully address a future dominated by climate change. But his subtitle is not deceptive: He identifies the economy as the crucial element. The book is divided into four parts: what’s wrong now, a vision…
Meditation Misfire
Editor: I have been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism for the past 10 years and so read Barry Evans’ column on meditation with interest (“Meditation: Stress Reduction or Induction,” Feb. 21). Buddhism is an extremely complex philosophy which teaches literally thousands of types of meditation. However, in very general terms, the purpose of Buddhist meditation…
A Matter of Some Gravity
You throw a stone up, it comes back down. How does it know to do so, absent little arrows in the air? Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein offered two very different answers, neither of which is easy to visualize. In Newton’s version, two masses, the Earth and stone, are attracted to each other by…
Traffic Calming
Traffic calming proposals for Eureka.
Discover The Absence of Warmth
At its best, Eureka’s Discovery Museum exists to challenge kids’ minds through creative play and interactive exhibits. As its website states, the Old Town kid magnet is in the business of “fostering a passion for exploration and learning.” That’s nice. But it’s not all about the kids! This weekend, the museum will assist a…
No Cheese Balls Here
Anyone who reads the tiny print in the back of newspapers — the legal notices — might have noticed the appearance last month of an apparently very grave affair: All of last year, Cypress Grove Chevre was in “significant noncompliance for discharge of oil and grease” into the city of Arcata’s sewer lines. Oh, no.…
Soulless
It’s a little strange, isn’t it? Empty vases are hard to explain, even though there’s nothing in them. They don’t talk. On the other hand, you could say barrenness speaks for itself. Nifty paradox
Eye on the Prize
With less than year left until its self-imposed Feb. 12, 2014, could be expiration date, the future of Kevin Hoover’s Arcata Eye remains undecided. Will the paper fold? Will a buyer materialize? Will it be taken over by the Plazoid masses? Time will, most likely, tell. In the meantime, we party. This Saturday, March…
