Cover Story
What Now?
David Josiah Lawson’s mother’s grief is audible as she speaks with her Jamaican accent. But so is her pride. She’s in KHSU’s studio talking to a radio DJ just a few days after her 19-year-old son was fatally stabbed at a house party. She explains her son’s childhood love of green-apple Jolly Rancher candies and…
Locally Delicious Guidebook Drops
The mantra of “eat local,” isn’t just hipster folly — it’s a critically important act of resistance against the corporate takeover of our diets, our bodies and our health. A dollar spent on local, sustainably grown food supports family-owned farms, reduces petrol dependency, can reduce the chemical contamination of your food and reinvests your money…
Photo Contest!
I don’t think we’re alone in saying 2017 has been a slog so far. We were all so happy to put 2016 behind us but every day it seems like some new craziness — both from within our county and beyond — has descended to test us. But all that has spurred us to spend…
Deep Dish Diplomacy
Hey, Australia. Are we good? We had a weird phone call followed by a weird meeting and now it’s awkward. But look, we made your favorite: meat pies! For those unfamiliar, meat pies are the wings and nachos of the land down under. They are at once a comfort food and the portable meal that…
Music Tonight – Wednesday, May 10
As mentioned above, local Pink Floyd and Tom Petty fanatic Piet Dalmolen returns to the Mad River Brewery Tap Room for some of his solo guitar wizardry at 6 p.m. The show is free but feel free to leave a tip. If you saw Go By Ocean on Friday night and liked it, thank Piet…
THIRD UPDATE: Pedestrian Killed in 101 Hit and Run ID
THIRD UPDATE: The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified the pedestrian killed May 5 on U.S. Highway 101 north of the airport as McKinleyville resident Ralph Pak Summers. He was 49. CHP Officer Cy May said the case is active and the agency is “following up on some pretty good investigative leads.” He says investigators…
Spot the Humboldt Locations in the Woodshock Trailer
Hey, remember when Kirstin Dunst came to town and we totally became best friends and tried on shoes and ate macaroons just like in Marie Antoinette? What? That could have happened — you don’t know my life. Regardless, the trailer for Woodshock, the film she was shooting with directors Kate and Laura Mulleavy amid our majestic (and apparently…
UPDATE: Name of Shelter Cove Man Killed in ‘Intentional’ Collision Released
Update: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today identified the man killed May 3 in what officials described as an intentional act as Shelter Cove resident Jesse Earl Simpson. He was 42. Previous: A fatal traffic collision in Shelter Cove yesterday left one person dead and a 45-year-man has been arrested in what officials are calling…
Tensions Escalate During Saturday Protest in Arcata
Arcata has been quiet today after protesters’ chants echoed through the city’s streets for two consecutive days, demanding justice for slain Humboldt State University sophomore David Josiah Lawson. More than 100 people descended on the Arcata Plaza yesterday, where they chanted and waved signs before moving on to the Union Town Shopping Center. At the…
Eureka Visitor’s Center to Close During Bid Process
After more than 40 years, the Eureka Visitor’s Center on Broadway is slated to close at the end of next month while the city completes a competitive bid process for the service during peak tourist season. Eureka councilmembers voted 4-1 last week — with Councilmember Marian Brady dissenting — not to extend funding after the…
Peaceful Protest in Arcata Demands ‘Justice for Josiah’
More than 100 people marched through Arcata last night to demand justice for slain Humboldt State University sophomore David Josiah Lawson and urge law enforcement to continue its investigation. Chants of “justice for Josiah” and “no justice, no peace,” echoed off downtown buildings and through on-campus apartments as the group marched for more than two…
Music Tonight – Saturday, May 6
Slather on the sunblock as today is the second annual Humboldt Steel Pan Festival. This festival in Blue Lake’s Perigot park will go from noon until about 5 p.m. and features some amazingly talented local artists raising money for steel pan programs in local elementary schools. You’ll be watching the groovin’ hands of The Humboldt…
Spam-tastic
Wondering what to make for dinner? Kind of over clean eating? Draw some inspiration from the chefs who competed in last Sunday’s Spamley Cup at Redwood Fields in Cutten. On April 30, the annual canned pork product cook-off drew crowds eager to try the pink stuff in every imaginable form. The event raised $500 for…
Judge Dismisses Murder Charge in Slaying of HSU Student
Update: The city of Arcata released a statement that is copied in its entirety below the original post, as are statements from Humboldt State University and the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office. Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholtsen ruled this afternoon that there is insufficient evidence to hold Kyle Christopher Zoellner to stand trial on a…
Music Tonight – Friday, May 5
It’s Cinco de Mayo, which we all know is the celebration of the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla. We here in majority white mainstream America celebrate this day by not knowing a thing about the Battle of Puebla and treating this holiday as the Mexican St. Patrick’s Day. We have a good number…
An Evening with David Sedaris
Does An Evening with David Sedaris sound like a dream? If so, pinch yourself. It’s actually happening. The humorist, comedian, author and NPR contributor brings his satire and cutting cultural insights to the Van Duzer Theatre on Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m. ($66). Hear wit and wisdom from the recipient of the Thurber Prize…
Bigfootin’
Did you see something up in Willow Creek on Saturday? Bigfoot’s stomping grounds were the site of a tribute to our hirsute local hero in Veteran’s Park. The cast of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot, including homegrown hunter James “Bobo” Fay, showed up to sign autographs, swap stories and film the festivities. Elvis of the Bigfoot world…
HumBug: Darth Omus
On Wednesday, I was delighted to see some of my favorite tiny moths milling around the tips of tall bushes along the road. Our local fairy moths (Adela sepentrionella) are remarkable for their extravagantly long antennae and the fact that they are the only member of their family to feed on a perennial flowering plant,…
Huffman, Humboldt Residents, Decry House Passage of ‘TrumpCare’
Shortly after H.R. 1628 passed by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives, Rep. Jared Huffman’s office fired off a press release denouncing the passage of “TrumpCare” as a “disaster.” The bill, which includes an amendment that may remove coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions, can still be altered significantly in the Senate. Huffman…
Five Owlets Have Landed in Ferndale
Things are getting crowded in the barn owl nest in The Ferndale Music Company and the Old Steeple building. The mother owl “Truman” appears to have now hatched five of her six eggs — with the first two debuting last week in the bell tower of the turn-of the-century former Ferndale church. The Ferndale Music Company…
Music Tonight – Thursday, May 4
You can ease into your weekend this evening with some “folky fiddle tunes” from local band Fingal at 6 p.m. up at the Mad River Brewery. This is a free show and I’m hearing that the big tent is coming down soon, so make sure to bring some sunblock for you and the kiddos. David…
Pro-Mattole
Celebrate Mattole and all it has to offer at Pro-Mattole Saturday, May 6, 4 to 9 p.m. at the Mattole Grange (free, with dinner and beer for purchase). This fun event has something for the whole family: kids activities, a tug-of-war contest, prizes, beer, dinner and square dancing with Mattole Valley Mudstompers and calling by…
Party with the Pandas
The folks at the Sequoia Park Zoo know a thing or two about the wild life. They’ve been inviting the community to unleash its animal side with them for the last 11 years at the zoo’s frothiest fundraiser, Brew at the Zoo, happening this year Saturday, May 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. ($45, $20…
Trinidad Art Nights
Upper Trinidad SAUNDER’S PARK (start of Patrick’s Point Drive/behind Chevron) Trinidad Skate Alliance will have skate ramps 6-8 p.m. Circus of the Elements (fire dance performance troupe) 8:45 p.m. SIMMON’S GALLERY 380 Janis Court (Trinidad Coastal Land Trust) “Camel Rock According To…” paintings by Marvin Trump. Music by Howdy Emerson. TRINIDAD MUSEUM 400 Janis Court…
Parking Problems
Editor: So, I am about to pay my Old Town employment penalty. What? You didn’t know there is a fee for working in Old Town? Well, there is. This is my third parking ticket. It’s very discouraging to work every day, knowing I could be penalized for doing so. The fee is $38, not an insignificant amount…
Hiding Behind Closed Minds
Picture, if you will, a small liberal arts college. A feminist professor of literature. A white male undergraduate on an athletic scholarship. Unconscious bias kicked in yet? Such unthinking assumptions form the central thread in Third, now playing at Redwood Curtain Theatre. The play, Wendy Wasserstein’s last (it premiered just a few months before she…
Big Girls, Big Brothers
THE CIRCLE. Where have all the techno-thrillers gone? I began to wonder this after my disappointing afternoon with The Circle. I claim to be no expert in the subgenre, but the ’80s and ’90s were rife with paranoid thought experiments about the cyberworld we were creating. Did we peak at The Matrix? Perhaps 9/11 brought…
‘Butterfly of Hope’
Editor: What an enchanting conception of Daniel Viellieux and Joseph Ferber, to transform Arcata into wildlife habitat (“The Butterfly Effect,” April 20)! So stubbornly pure a thing to be thinking about when our government is smashing wildlife and human habitat to smithereens in our name all over the planet! It offers a little cosmic balance,…
Puzzling
Once again, for your edification and amusement, 10 puzzles. You’ll find the answers on page 49 of this issue of the Journal. Let’s start with the lovely “checkershadow” by Edward Adelson (who kindly refuses to copyright his highly original illusions): 1. In Figure 1, which square is darker, A or B? 2. Easier than it…
In Praise of Science
Editor: The recent marches in support of science, and the changes in national policy, have renewed the contentious political debate about climate change (NCJ Daily, April 20). We need to stop arguing whether climate change is real, and start focusing on its many economic and social impacts that are now happening, and will continue in…
Fake POTUS
No, it’s not fake news … it’s a fake president. It seems that our current POTUS was put in charge to demonstrate to the American people how apathy, resignation and not showing up at the polls can impact every aspect of our lives. Many wish this election was just a bad dream from which will…
‘Not OK’
Editor: Thank you North Coast Journal for continuing to cover the fiasco in the Public Defender’s office (“Let’s Talk About Rex,” April 13). It’s not OK for the supervisors to simply say they stand behind their decision to hire Mr. Marcus. When all of the attorneys (who have been practicing law in California for the…
Land of the Free and Uncomfortable
If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all. That’s the maxim my parents and teachers taught me. Somewhere along the line, that turned into this: If someone says something mean, keep them from saying it. There’s a disturbing new report from the Newseum, the nonprofit museum in Washington, D.C., devoted to the…
Blind, Sick, Alone
Local law firm Janssen Malloy, LLC, which recently filed two complaints alleginglleging patient neglect and abuse against local skilled nursing facilities, has added another case to its slate, accusing Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center of dumping a dependent adult in a hotel room without proper medical care in October of 2016. The man, who was…
The sheep have moved to higher ground
In the lower pasture water leans into the footings of the small barn. Colonies of birds take root in the soft mud of new lakes, a whispered seeping of water into water, the illusion of ground swallowed whole like a sword.
Pandemic
There’s a lot that makes Humboldt stand out among the other 57 rather bleh counties in our great state. (OK, Mendocino is pretty cool. And Trinity has the Trinity River, so that’s awesome.) I don’t want to make this a long list of what Humboldt has going for it, but rather to point out one…
Humboldt on Tap
We’re stronger together. Families know it, unions know it and, in Crescent City, the brewers swear by it. After swiftly raising their local brewery count from zero to two, Crescent City’s fledgling breweries sometimes turn to each other to borrow ingredients. “We’re totally cooperative,” says Ryan Wakefield, co-owner of SeaQuake Brewing. “Together we’re stronger than…
Rules, Sessions and Stinky Weed
The three state agencies tasked with regulating California’s medical cannabis industry released 114 pages of draft rules that are designed to make the industry cleaner and safer, if a bit more expensive to operate in. The rules — which are now circulating for a 45-day comment period that will include a June 1 workshop at…
$1 for Every Vegan
Editor: On the matter of veganism, while I can understand the merits of eating less meat and supporting local, organic, responsible producers is great for the health of the planet, I would like to offer a word of caution: telling people how they should nourish their bodies is not a good look. I’m referring to…
Details from Big Collision
Whether or not you’ve spent much time thinking about the wizardly effects that can be achieved with pen and ink, you should catch Kaye Buchman: Around the Whirled at the Morris Graves Museum of Art’s Anderson Gallery this Arts Alive before it closes on May 7. Buchman’s large-scale pen and ink works are something to…
Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org ADORNI CENTER 1011 Waterfront St. Barbara Saul, paintings. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan Strope, floral paintings. DJ Laura. AREA 1 AGENCY ON AGING 434 Seventh St.…
Camel Rock According to…
The Trinidad Coastal Land Trust honors its late founder Marvin Trump with a showing of his Camel Rock paintings, depictions of Trinidad’s Camel Rock in the style of different well-known artists. See his work at the Camel Rock According to Art Opening during Trinidad Art Nights Friday, May 5 from 5-9 p.m. at the Simmons…
New in Town
If you like the nightlife, baby, but feel Humboldt lacks a little in evening options, there are a couple of new venues to check out. First up is The Fuzion, located in the revamped Carson Block Building at Third and F streets in Eureka. The Fuzion hosts a variety of events, many of them all…
