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#WeWillNotBeErased
On Oct. 21, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration had begun circulating a memo outlining its plan to roll back the federal government’s definition of gender to an unchangeable at-birth designation of either male or female. This legal definition, which would be applied to Title IX civil rights protections against gender discrimination…
Meant to Brie
Artful charcuterie boards spilling over with brie and fruit are the ephemeral mandalas of the food world. Brie and berry jam show up together on fancy grilled cheese and burger menus all the time. And you can’t shimmy a buckwheat crepe out of a pan without someone tossing a slab of brie onto it. So…
North Coast Night Lights: Camping in the King Range
The Fall Equinox of Sept. 21, 2017, found me camping beneath the stars on Paradise Ridge in Southern Humboldt’s King Range, a BLM-managed area of our beautiful and famous Lost Coast. Friends I’ve known since childhood had invited me out to join them for a night of stargazing and Milky Way photography in one of…
‘It’s a Different World’
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office posted a tear jerker of a video to Facebook today showing SWAP Farm manager Jeff Dishmon after Correctional Deputy Samantha Freese and other deputies pitched in to get Dishmon special glasses that for the first in his life allowed him “to see all the colors.” See what happens for yourself…
Candy House: See’s Returns to Henderson Center
Are you finally out of Halloween candy? It’s going to be OK. The See’s Candy once available next door to the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Henderson Center is back after a brief residency blocks away and it’s got its own little candy house in the corner. The kiosk, the exterior of which mimics…
Scenes From the Camp Fire
The Camp Fire raging in Butte County is now known to have claimed 48 lives – with six people found yesterday in residences that had been overrun by flames. That number is expected to rise as teams comb through the ashes in search of those not yet accounted for nearly a week later. Around 7,600…
Update: 30 Acre Fire Burning Near Hoopa
UPDATE: Read the latest on the Signboard fire here. PREVIOUSLY: An escaped prescribed burn has spread over 30 acres of steep terrain east of Hoopa, according to Peggi Lawrence, Public Affairs specialist for Six Rivers National Forest. Yesterday afternoon, the Signboard Fire rolled downhill from a planned burn started last Thursday by Hoopa Tribe to…
Judge Recommends Revoking Licenses for Sidelines, Toby & Jack’s
An administrative law judge has recommended that the California Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control revoke the liquor licenses for two longtime Arcata bars, Sidelines and Toby & Jack’s. Judge Alberto Roldan’s recommendation, handed off to ABC this morning, comes after a four-day hearing held in late September surrounding allegations of widespread narcotic sales at the…
Smoke from Camp Fire Continues to Impact Region
Smoke from the devastating Camp Fire in Butte County — the deadliest in the state’s history with at least 48 now confirmed killed — is continuing to affect air quality in the region today. According to a release from the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District, the impacts are expected to be “Moderate” to “Unhealthy…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Nov. 14
The Mad River Brewery Tasting Room offers another installment of Pints for Nonprofits. This week’s beneficiary is none other than the Blue Lake Museum. The band is banjo/guitar/bass trio The Spindrifters. The audience can be you if you choose to roll by after 6 p.m. (free).
Officers Cleared in Fatal Plaza Shooting (With Video)
The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office has determined the Sept. 9, 2017, fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man on the Arcata Plaza by a university police officer was legally justified. Responding to a report of a fight and a suspect brandishing a firearm in front of Arcata’s bar row, University Police Department officer Louis Altic…
Photos from the Intertribal Gathering
The 37th annual Intertribal Gathering and Elder Dinner attracted another large crowd to the Redwood Acres Fairground in Eureka on Saturday. Sponsored by the Northern California Indian Development Council, Inc., the event honors veterans and Elders in ceremony and offers a friendly social experience over a turkey or salmon dinner provided at no cost to…
Fourth Update: New Fire Springs Up Off Kneeland Road
FOURTH UPDATE: Forward progress of the fire in the Bridgeville area, known as the Redwood incident, has been stopped at 1.8 acres, according to Cal Fire. THIRD UPDATE: Cal Fire declares the Green Hill vegetation fire contained at 10 acres but warns that a new incident has sprung up off Kneeland Road, where a full…
Wildfire Smoke Impacting Local Air Quality
Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire burning in Butte County — which is now the deadliest in California history, taking at least 42 lives — is impacting air quality in Humboldt County today. The haze that’s descended across the region is expected to stay for several days, according to a release from the North Coast…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Nov. 13
DJ Goldylocks spins the background sounds for a free spoken-word event at Northtown Coffee in Arcata brought to you by the folks in the Word Humboldt collective. Featured artist Alyx Muro anchors this event which begins at 6 p.m.
Music Tonight: Monday, Nov. 12
Known for a multidimensional approach to storytelling and songwriting, as well as a highly regarded NPR Tiny Desk Concert, New York’s Florist is a gentle trio of talented writers who want to entertain you. They are appearing at the Outer Space tonight at 7 p.m. ($7). Joining in is the have-to-be-seen synth/wizard/ninja act Doctor Foxmeat…
HumLook: Your Week in Images
Local photographer Jose Quezada has launched a pair of new websites, HumSport and HumLook, showcasing the work of a team of local photographers. Photographers will be uploading galleries of photos on both sites regularly, showcasing their best images of local sports, cultural events and landscapes. High-resolution downloads of the images are also available for $5 apiece.…
Just Kayak Fishing with Great Whites, No Big – Video
Yesterday round noon, Eric Stockwell of Loleta Eric’s Guide Service was fishing alone at Cape Mendocino when he spotted and briefly filmed a great white shark swimming between him and the group of kayakers he’d paddled up to. If you want to know what one looks like close up in the wild, you can get…
HumBug: Lepidoptera
Walking along the Van Duzen River today after three frosty nights, I noted four different kinds of butterflies. We saw many Mylitta crescents (Phyciodes mylitta), got a brief glimpse of what was most likely a woodland skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) and a West Coast lady (Vanessa annabella). A California sister (Adelpha californica) flitted up and posed…
Dell’Arte Company Presents Bird of the Inner Eye
Dell’Arte’s Joan Schirle and company present Bird of the Inner Eye, a theatrical reading of painter and long-time Humboldt resident Morris Graves’ personal letters on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre (suggested donation $5 – $10). The show also plays at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at Black Faun…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Nov. 11
History will show that I am fond of repping matinee performances on Sunday. This has a lot to do with my desire to include at least one recommended show for the whole family during peak hours per column, a goal of which I often fall short. But this Sunday I am in the zone, as…
Thank You for Your Service
November is National Gratitude month — a time when we celebrate Thanksgiving, exercise our right to vote in a free democracy and thank those whose military service to our country ensures we enjoy these very things. This Veterans Day, tip your hat to service members at one of these local events. Rotary Club of Southwest…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Nov. 10
SquarPeg is a different kind of quartet. With members ranging in provenance from the Eureka Symphony to the European Jazz circuit to Bengal music venues, this group has a mission statement aimed at making chamber music for the 21st century. For only $10 you can experience that sound live at the Fortuna Monday Club at…
North Coast Night Lights: Close Encounters on the Avenue
The Avenue of the Giants is as beautiful a drive as you will find. The groves along its 36-mile course line the Avenue with some of the grandest examples of the tallest trees on Earth, the California coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. Some are thousands of years old. If a disproportionate number of my photographs are…
Humboldt Sees Huge Turnout
It looks like Humboldt County just saw its biggest midterm election turnout in at least 20 years. Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders told the Journal this morning that the elections office has 24,588 ballots on hand that still need to be verified and counted, on top of the 29,610 counted on election night.…
Lawson Case in DA’s Hands, Initial Review Likely to Span Several Weeks
Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming confirmed this morning that the Arcata Police Department has officially submitted its investigation into the 2017 stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson to her office for review. “We have received all the reports,” Fleming wrote in an email to the Journal, adding that an initial review revealed that there…
EPIC Celebration
Celebrate EPIC’s 41 years of environmental activism at the EPIC Fall Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Beginnings Octagon ($50 dinner, awards and music, $20 awards/music only). Enjoy toe-tappin’ fiddle tunes by No Pardon, dinner by Sue’s Organics and a sweet silent auction with all proceeds going to forest protection.
Music Tonight: Friday, Nov. 9
Die//Fam is a Portland band with Humboldt roots, being one of the numerous “Ellis bands” fronted by former Arcata musical gadfly Ellis Wallace. Tonight they play an all-ages show at Blondies at 8 p.m. with Berkeley’s pop punk brats Adult School ($5). An hour later at The Logger Bar, you can find a free-for-all rock…
Huffman Takes on New Role in Democrat Held House: Subcommittee Chair
When Congressman Jared Huffman begins his fourth term in office after easily cruising to an election night victory on Nov. 6, he will also be taking on a new leadership role after the Democrats took over the majority of seats in the House of Representatives. “There’s going to be a new sheriff in town,” said…
Fire Breaks out Near Redway
UPDATE: Forward progress has been stopped on the Red Fire as of about 2:25 p.m., according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Savanna. PREVIOUSLY: A fire is burning on the mountain across the South Fork of the Eel River from Redway in Southern Humboldt. Readers report that they first saw smoke before 11:30 a.m. Cal…
Arcata Selects New Police Chief
The city of Arcata announced today that the selection of a new police chief will be officially ratified by the council Friday during a noon special meeting followed by his swearing-in ceremony. The city selected Brian Ahearn out of a pool of 20 candidates in a process that included “multi-panel interview process and extensive background…
Make Mine Strange
Raise your glass and say “cheers!” Strangebrew Beerfest is back for another round on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Eureka Theater ($35). The annual festival, now in its 11th year, is a fundraiser for the ongoing restoration of the historic Eureka Theater. So what makes it strange? Here’s the hops: Local breweries…
Fig Twig Market
Gettin’ twiggy with it. The Fig Twig Market, the place for cool, retro holiday shopping focusing on home decor, handmade and vintage items, comes to the Humboldt County Fairgrounds on Friday, Nov. 9 from 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($7 Friday, $3 Saturday).
Music Tonight: Thursday, Nov. 8
Since the Joan Baez show is sold out and since not everyone who reads this column is a baby boomer, here’s a younger funk show to warm up your Thursday night. Sebastopol’s Burnside is touring with fellow Sonoma County mamma jammas Black Sheep Brass Band for a tour that lands on the stage of The…
White Powder Anti-Defamation League
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Fight for Trans Rights
Trans rights are human rights, civil rights. It’s that simple. Consequently, the Trump administration’s recent move to narrowly define gender as an “immutable” condition determined by genitalia at birth can only be seen as an attempt to strip the transgender and non-binary citizens among us of civil rights protections. It’s an effort to craft a…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1994, Aries pop diva Mariah Carey collaborated with an associate to write the song “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It took them 15 minutes to finish it. Since then it has generated $60 million in royalties. I wish I could unconditionally predict that you, too, will efficiently spawn…
November Soundtrack
We are definitely into November, the 11th month of the year, helpfully named after the ninth month of the old Roman Calendar. Of course, it has had many other names throughout history. One of my favorites is Brumaire, the so-called “month of fog” in the argot of the French Revolution. On Nov. 9, 1799, came…
The Boys and the Band
Reviews BEAUTIFUL BOY. The truism that addiction is no laughing matter is apparently and unfortunately not lost on concurrent father and son memoirists David and Nic Sheff, nor on Luke Davies and Felix van Groeningen, who adapted those memoirs into a screenplay that the latter went on to direct. The end result of all that,…
Early November
Lady Maple sheds her fiery, gold-tinged robe, bare arms raised, stands naked in expectation of her lover, …
‘This is the Land We Dream of, the Land that Belongs to Us Again’
This week author Brando Skyhorse visits several locations in Humboldt County for a pair of readings and discussions. Skyhorse’s first work, Take this Man: A Memoir, in which he recounts the quirks and the tragedies of his childhood in Los Angeles, generated much praise. His first novel, The Madonnas of Echo Park, is the 2018…
‘Sunshine Every Day’
When professor Rae Robison first met Key’Maan Stringer during the orientation for incoming students in Humboldt State University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Dance in August, the 19-year-old freshman immediately stood out. “He came over and said, ‘I just want to thank you. I’m so excited,’ and he hugged me and I’m not a hugger,”…
Ultra Marine
Multimedia artist Jessie Vala transformed Humboldt State University’s Reese Bullen Gallery for her new exhibition, turning the white cube into a blue sculpture grotto. The Eugene, Oregon-based Vala replaced the usual gallery spotlights with blue lamps, bathing viewers in azure light for an oddly calming effect. The marine implications of all this blueness are reinforced…
Sadie’s Story
Editor’s note: This story contains offensive language. It is the Journal’s policy not to alter direct quotations or to censor language, no matter how offensive, as it runs the risk of sanitizing that which should not be sanitized. Sadie Shelmire stood behind the podium and read through her notes before looking up at her mother,…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at various locations in Arcata. Visit www.arcatamainstreet.com, Arts! Arcata on Facebook or call 707-822-4500 for more information. ALCHEMY DISTILLERY 330 S G St. Steven Vandermeer, mixed media. ANGELICA ATELIER 1101 H St. “THE THE THE THE (Mother Gods Seeds Fruit),” Anna…
Cambodian Community, Doughnuts and Prahok
Usually I’m more than excited when a fellow Southeast Asian has won an award for culinary prowess but, this time around, I wasn’t amused. Humboldt residents, you voted for a Cambodian restaurant to win the North Coast Journal’s Best Chinese Restaurant award. Anthony Bourdain is probably rolling in his grave right now. China and Cambodia…
Liening In
The county of Humboldt is beginning the process of imposing $900,000 liens on a handful of properties whose owners have not responded to abatement and violation notices connected with cannabis cultivation. Planning Director John Ford said the county’s controversial code enforcement approach — which threatens fines of up to $10,000 a day on properties found…
Sea Turtle Lovin’
Sometimes distant things on the beach aren’t what they first seem to be. For example, I recently thought I saw a washed-up great white shark. But it turned out to be a king-size mattress folded in half. Once near Cape Mendocino I thought I saw a flying saucer on the sand up ahead. I froze.…
#MenToo
Editor: In the era of the #Metoo movement, male victims of sexual abuse are not being heard (“The Right Time to Come Forward with Your Sexual Assault,” Oct. 4). In his 2018 Netflix special, comedian Joe Rogan makes a mockery of male abuse victims and belittles their experiences. Rogan seems to think that only women…
