‘We’re Scared’
What local students have to say about school shootings and how to stop them
Cover Story
What Humboldt Students Have to Say About School Shootings and How to Stop Them
Students in high school classrooms across the North Coast walked out at 10 a.m. on March 14, taking part in a national walkout day organized to bring awareness to gun violence and school shootings. The 17-minute walkout took place in solidarity with students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with each minute…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, March 28
Haiti-by-way-of-New Jersey’s own one third of ’90s supergroup The Fugees, Wyclef Jean visits our little county for an evening of fun at the Mateel tonight at 9 p.m. I can’t imagine that I need to introduce him further, so I will only add that good vibes So-Cal duo Culture Crew will open the evening ($40).…
Tsunami Warning Test Set for Tomorrow
Fifty-four years ago today, at 5:36 p.m., the earth beneath southern Alaska began to shake — and continued to shake for nearly five minutes — with a force that still marks the Good Friday temblor as the largest ever to hit the United States. More than 100 people were killed by the magnitude-9.2 quake and…
Fortuna City Manager Mark Wheetley Receives Jail Time for DUI
Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming confirmed this afternoon that Fortuna city manager Mark Wheetley pleaded guilty to driving involving alcohol (Vehicle Code section 23103.5, also known as a “wet and reckless”) and violation of probation due to a previous DUI arrest. Court commissioner Timothy Canning sentenced Wheetley to three years probation and 15 days…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, March 27
As far as I can tell, Ghost Light is some breed of jam band from the same sort of pedigree that East Coast genius Marco Benevento has, albeit with more of a Grateful Dead nod. I say “as far as I can tell” because after checking out the website — which was full of many…
Goldberg Faces 40 to Life After Conviction
Jon David Goldberg will face 40 years to life in prison when sentenced May 11 after a jury convicted him Friday of second-degree murder, with an enhancement for personally using a firearm to kill 42-year-old Tim Smith in September of 2016. After less than two days of deliberations following a month-long trial, the jury came…
Music Tonight: Monday, March 26
Musical duo Peter McCoid and Anthony Pellico bring their funky acoustic jams to Blondies tonight at 7:30 p.m. (price TBA).
Hundreds Join Arcata March for Our Lives
Hundreds of people — young and old — took to the streets of Arcata yesterday as a part of the nationwide March for Our Lives event to demand gun control and school safety measures. The local march — which drew as many as 1,000 people by some estimates — was organized by students at Arcata…
Music Tonight: Sunday, March 25
There’s another fun rock ‘n’ roll daytime show at The Jam today. Talented local songwriter Cliff Dallas brings his “spaghetti western” band The Mojave Green across the bay from Eureka to join the fuzzy roots band Hollow Down at 2 p.m. The show is a benefit for the Arcata Vet’s Hall, so your $5 door…
‘Too Far to Turn Back:’ Arcata Continues Community Dialogue on Race
People of color don’t feel safe in Humboldt County. That was the message reiterated over and over by speakers at Thursday night’s Community Dialogue on Race at Arcata’s D Street Neighborhood Center. The forum, attended by almost 100 community members, came as part of a series of dialogues and updates following the slaying of Humboldt…
Wyclef Jean Comes to the Mateel
Former Fugee and thrice Grammy winner Wyclef Jean brings Haitian-Jersey flavor to the Mateel Community Center on Wednesday, March 28 at 9 p.m. for an 18-and-over show as part of his Carnival III tour ($40 advance). And hey, his 2010 bid for president of Haiti doesn’t look so wild anymore, now does it?
Music Tonight: Saturday, March 24
It’s a celebration of sorts. Though not quite a CD-release party — the album comes out next month — Object Heavy teams up with DJ Gabe Pressure for a night of heavy funk at 7 p.m. at The Jam. For a mere $10, come join the NCJ’s Best of Humboldt Best Band and Best Club…
High School Students Set to March for Their Lives
Local high school students and supporters will take to the streets of Arcata tomorrow, joining a national March for Our Lives event planned by students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Planned by students at Arcata and North Coast Preparatory Academy, the local march will begin at noon at the Arcata Playhouse,…
Long Road to Nowhere on McKinley Vote
“What the fuck? It’s been four fucking hours,” a frustrated audience member exclaimed incredulously at the end of Wednesday’s Arcata City Council meeting. “Why did you do this?” The remarks were directed squarely at Councilmember Susan Ornelas, who had just dropped her second President William McKinley’s statue bombshell in as many weeks. “At this point,…
Spring Equinox Dance is a Global Get Down
If the only dance you’re getting is on TV, you need to get out of the house. Twirl over to the Creamery District, where Redwood Raks World Dance Studio is feting its 10th anniversary with a Spring Equinox Dance Celebration on Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m. ($10, $8 students and seniors, $5 kids under…
Music Tonight: Friday, March 23
There’s a fundraiser at the Outer Space for Preparatoria Comunitaria José Martí in San Francisco Ixhuatán, Oaxaca, a radical community high school that was heavily damaged by the Central Mexican earthquake in September of last year. Starting at 7 p.m. and for $7 — all proceeds going toward rebuilding the school — come jam out…
Rebel Craft Rumble Redefines ‘War Craft’
The first rule of Rebel Craft Rumble is don’t talk about — wait, sorry — it’s actually “no glitter.” Because, sweet mother of Martha Stewart, you’ll never get rid of it. But pretty much anything else goes at the fifth annual SCRAP benefit on Saturday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the battle octagon of…
Redwood Harley-Davidson Hosts Hogs & Hot Rods
On Saturday, March 24 at 4 p.m., Redwood Harley-Davidson’s lot fills up with Hogs & Hot Rods (free). Show off your own ride or scope out the muscle cars, choppers and more. Roaring along with the engines will be Doug Fir and the 2x4s playing — what else? — classic rock.
Music Tonight: Thursday, March 22
Singer-songwriter Alice DiMicele brings her band Force of Nature to the Arcata Playhouse tonight at 7:30 p.m. ($15) for an evening of blended Americana folk music with hints of jazz and blues thrown in the mix. Over at The Jam at 9 p.m., there is a spring equinox celebration in the form of a reggae…
Hum Plate Roundup: Pan Dulce, Fall-apart Ribs and Sandwich Nostalgia
Bread and sugar When fire shut down El Pueblo Market on Broadway in Eureka, it left a sweet roll-sized hole in our hearts and stomachs. While we wait for the market and its wall of baked goods to reopen — soon, we hear, though there’s no firm date — we’re feeding our pan dulce cravings…
The E.T. Equation
“… there must be extraterrestrial civilizations … because the laws of nature that led to the development of life and intelligence on Earth must be the same as those prevailing elsewhere in the universe.” — Robert Zubrin Astronomer Frank Drake proposed what became known as the Drake Equation in 1961 to provoke discussion on how…
The Economics of Land Use
The reality that California is producing way more marijuana than legal markets can bear was in plain view during the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ March 19 public hearing on the county’s proposed cannabis land use ordinance. The question is what Humboldt County can do to protect the local industry, which was at one time…
Spring Thaw
Oh baby, it’s that most magical time of the year. I know you can dig it because the ground around here is profoundly wet but can you smell it? Hell, I think I can even taste it. I am talking, dear readers, about the first week of spring. It has come at last and not…
NCRA, Buh-bye
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Good Guy with a Howitzer
Dear President Trump: I have been retired for more than 15 years and I need a hobby. I thought about trout fishing or bird watching, but they are too benign. Although I’ve never owned a gun, I want one. Not just any gun. I want a tank. A heavily armored, self-propelled combat vehicle armed with…
Community Group Presents New Plan for Student Housing at Arcata’s Craftsman’s Mall
When a massive student housing project goes back before the Arcata Planning Commission on March 27, a recently formed community group will be presenting more than a show of opposition to the proposal — they have an alternative plan. “We believe there’s a better way than The Village project,” says John Bergenske, one of Arcata…
Humboldt Supes Fast Track Cannabis Ordinance
In a packed chamber, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors began discussing its commercial cannabis land use ordinance March 19 and — after a two-hour staff report and a couple hours of public comment — Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Ryan Sundberg indicated he’s hopeful the board will adopt the new ordinance when it…
Local Students on School Shootings, Unabridged
Editor’s note: This week’s cover story featured excerpts from opinion pieces written by local high school students on the topic of school shootings and gun violence. Here are all the submissions we received from them, posted in their entirety and only lightly edited for style and grammar. Read them and join the conversation in the comments below.…
Did Trump Appoint a Non-Native to Native American Ambassadorship?
Amid a maelstrom of “fake news reports” of indictments, sullied security clearances, resignations, forced resignations, removals and other such sundry vitriol among the many faces of the presidential administration, one name has gone unnoticed under society’s radar. His Highness, or as he is called by many in Native American country “The Great Orange Father,” has…
Tomb Raider Lacks Game but Simon Earns a Little Love
Reviews TOMB RAIDER. Having never been a gamer of any real focus or wherewithal — at all, really — Tomb Raider is a property that offers precious little by way of interest. Mostly because I didn’t play the video game but also because Angelina Jolie has yet to enter my celebrity fetishization pantheon, I didn’t…
Walking Out and Speaking Up
It happened again. While working on this issue focused on student responses to school shootings, there was another one. This time in Maryland, leaving the shooter dead and two others injured, based on preliminary reports. And by the time this issue leaves newsstands a week from now, statistics say the United States will have likely…
McKinley-fest
Editor: One of the purposes of art is to stimulate discussion. In this regard, the McKinley statue is doing a great job. Before retiring him into history’s dustbin, we should have an artistic talk back. People who want to respond in any form, visual arts, music, dance, theater, etc., to the McKinley statue could be…
A Few Questions
Editor: I live in Arcata; I’ve attended all the recent city council and study session meetings about removal of the President McKinley statue, and read all the recent local newspaper reports about this, too (“The McKinley Divide,” March 15). I have a few questions and a few statements for city council members Susan Ornelas, Brett…
What to Do?
Editor: Some people believe (with good reason apparently) that McKinley was the cause of much suffering and death around the globe. Others hold him in high regard. If he did awful things, that should be remembered, like remembering Auschwitz or Pearl Harbor. If he did good things, those should be remembered, too. Removing his statue…
$60K of Hell-Fire
Editor: It’s questionable to light fire to a bronze statue and disregard for the art of casting. It’s too much like war, like lopping off a nose or like royal looting. But why not with the $60K bid for moving McKinley, redirect the funds toward a gun buy-out/melt-down, a more appropriate target for flames and…
About That March 15 Issue
Editor: I thought that every issue was The Cannabis Issue… Paula Proctor, Arcata
HumBug: It’s a Jungle Out There
It rained this morning, giving me an excuse to not mow and enjoy the little English lawn daisies a little longer. Small flowers attract small critters and there was drama aplenty among the blades of grass. First off, the zombie dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria) are back right on schedule. The fungus Entomophthora muscae infects some…
NCRT’s The Tenth Muse Reminds Us to Take Nothing for Granted
In the late 17th century in what is now Mexico City, the convent of San Jeronimo was home to one of the most extensive libraries in the New World, presided over by Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz. She was a prolific and adventurous writer of poetry and plays, much beloved by the people of…
Daffodil Show to Fill Riverlodge
Everything is coming up daffodils at the Fortuna Riverlodge on Saturday, March 24 from noon to 5 p.m., when the 43rd annual Daffodil Show springs up (free). Wade through the sea of yellow and white blooms, inspect the juried and floral design shows, as well as some local art and maybe take a few blooms…
