Cover Story
Wild
Cody is galloping in circles in the round pen, tossing his head with its dark brown mane and letting out the occasional whinny. The 17-hand thoroughbred, muscular and spirited, is dismayed at being separated from the rest of the herd, but quiets almost immediately when Savanah McCarty steps into the pen with a light whip.…
Customers Rally Behind El Pueblo Market Hit by Fire
Traffic was snarled along Broadway in Eureka for several hours this morning as 30 firefighters battled a massive fire that destroyed the El Pueblo Market, which was known for its authentic Mexican pastries and other traditional foods. No one was injured in the early morning blaze, which caused an estimated $750,000 in damage to the…
Board of Supervisors Talks ‘Band Aid’ Funding for Roads
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday to direct $575,000 in leftover Measure Z money to the county public works department rather than rolling it over into the next fiscal year. The decision came after a long discussion among the supervisors and public comment by a resident of the Petrolia area, who shared concerns…
Why Some Feel the Deck was Stacked for the Prosecution in HumCo’s Public Defender Hiring
After a process that some perceive as deeply troubling, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that it is tapping David Marcus, a Florida attorney, to be the county’s next public defender. The three-month search to replace recently retired Public Defender Kevin Robinson, who packed up his briefcase in December, caused controversy in local…
Jewels of Wisdom
A sold-out crowd packed Humboldt State University’s Van Duzer Theater last night, with hip-hop supergroup Run the Jewels headlining. (View the slideshow at the bottom of the post.) The crowd was young, jubilant and wreathed in smoke. Outside the venue, a line stretched across the plaza as people waited to be patted down by security.…
Ink(ed) Well
Updating an old expression, there’s no explaining taste in food or love — or in choice of tattoo design. Evidence of the wide range of tattoo design choices was on ample display at the eighth annual Inked Hearts Tattoo Expo at the Blue Lake Casino’s Sapphire Palace this past weekend, Feb. 2-5. Some 30 booths…
HumBug: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles
The great geneticist and evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane once said, “The creator, if he exists, has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.” It is believed there are more species of beetles than any other order of animals on the planet. They fill so many niches in the environment it is no surprise to happen…
California Doubles Down on Sanctuary Status, Arcata Mulls Next Move
An executive order taking aim at sanctuary cities that President Donald Trump signed in his first days in office has cities, states and counties throughout the nation scrambling in all directions — some distancing themselves from the term “sanctuary” and others running toward it. California is placing itself firmly in the latter category. Meanwhile, North Coast municipalities…
AG: No Criminal Charges Against HumCo Judges
The California Attorney General’s Office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against a pair of Humboldt County Superior Court judges accused of submitting false affidavits to the state in order to receive their salaries. The office’s review of the case — conducted at the request of Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming — spanned…
Harbor Commission Taps Kullmann to Fill Empty Seat
Wiyot Tribe Natural Resources Director Stephen Kullmann is set to take a seat on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District board Feb. 16 after being selected by fellow commissioners on Thursday. Harbor District Executive Director Jack Crider said Kullmann, one of two candidates under consideration, was appointed on a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner…
A Troubled SoHum Road Finally Fails, Funding to Fix Uncertain
Residents of the Wilder Ridge/Honeydew area, a remote region of Humboldt County on the Lost Coast, have taken to social media over the last few months to post post pictures of their failing roads, including the extremely rough ride through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, where bathtub-size potholes have bent frames and popped tires. That road…
T-shirts, Get Your T-shirts!
Did the Eureka Women’s March leave you feeling empowered? Want to hold onto that feeling and commemorate it? Want to support a local artist and a good cause at the same time? If so, you’re in luck. In the wake of the march that organizers billed as the largest in Eureka’s history — with some…
Outside Angle
If you’ve been wondering how that book of photographs of Humboldt County by Curran Hatleberg turned out, it’s now available from TBW Books. You might remember Hatleberg, who has an MFA from Yale University, first came to our county to do some trimming (hey, Yale costs) and later taught photography at College of the Redwoods,…
Wheetley Selected As Fortuna’s City Manager
Arcata City Councilmember Mark Wheetley spent the early part of his morning at the River Lodge, waiting in the same room he first interviewed in for what the city of Fortuna announced today will be his new job: city manager. The process came full circle at the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City…
Jim Wood Introduces Bill to Strengthen Skilled Nursing Protections
North Coast Assemblymember Jim Wood’s announced today that he has introduced a bill to protect residents of skilled nursing facilities should a facility “have a change in license status or operation, such as closure.” The legislation comes in response to last year’s struggle to help patients in three local skilled nursing facilities owned by Brius…
The Keepers of Jewels, Run the World
Although we live in an age of alternative facts, I can’t sit here and lie to you and say that I’m a big fan of rap music. I’m not one who is necessarily “anti-rap,” it’s just not my thing. Although I do have a soft spot for some vintage De La Soul and The Beastie…
Seeking Settlement
After squaring off against the county of Humboldt in court to defend a Carlotta man’s right to die on his own terms, Eureka attorney Allison Jackson is turning to the Board of Supervisors to bring closure to the case. Jackson successfully contested maneuvers by Adult Protective Services and the Public Guardian’s Office to override Dick…
Winter Fare
Winter has flowed in (or, more precisely, flooded in) with atmospheric rivers. While the variety of produce now is not as wide as at other times of the year, we can always count on dark leafy greens: Swiss chard, kale and collard greens are versatile, good and good for us. My love for Swiss chard…
Market Forces
Forbes just released its retrospective on 2016 in the cannabis market and, if you’ve got resin on your fingers and dirt under your nails, the news isn’t good. America’s preeminent business magazine estimates the wholesale price of marijuana fell last year from $2,500 to between $1,000 and $1,486 per pound, with some dispensaries offering recreational…
Reality Show
Humboldt State University’s Third Street Gallery takes on the topic of transgender identity with two concurrent exhibitions running through March 5. One features New York-based Lorenzo Triburgo’s photographic portraits of trans men; the other is a collaboration between recent HSU art alums Megan May and Marval A. Rex, artists and romantic partners whose multimedia collaboration…
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. Paul Rickard, watercolors, and Barbara Saul, pastels. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan Strope, paintings. DJ Laura. AMERICAN INDIAN ART AND GIFT…
Dawn Redwoods: Alive and Kicking!
“If a man has to have a memorial or a monument to commemorate his life and his work, nothing could be more fitting than a living Dawn Redwood.” — Andrew Genzoli, Times-Standard, March 18, 1971 Just south of Pepperwood on the Avenue of the Giants, at the start of the 2.4-mile-long Drury-Chaney trail, a plaque on a…
It Ain’t all Gold
Reviews RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER. As anyone who knows me — or has been unfortunate enough to have fallen within the sound of my voice — can attest, I spent the month of January abstinent from alcohol, sugar, grains and dairy products. Hardly a prison sentence and, after the looming-apocalypse bacchanal with which I…
Family Circles
Don’t hold Eleemosynary’s title against it. It’s a clever device by playwright Lee Blessing (whose Going to St. Ives was a popular production at Redwood Curtain Theatre last year) that plays into the content of the piece. It means “charitable” and it is the winning word in a national spelling contest. Eleemosynary, now playing at…
Sowing Seeds of Sustainability
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do in this weather is go outside and muck around in the garden. I thought about writing an article entitled, “Things You Can Do in the Garden During a Torrential Downpour,” but yeah … no thanks! Instead, let’s explore some of the best…
Schutt It
Editor: In John Schutt’s Guest Views (“My Hope,” Jan. 26, 2017), he leads his column with, “…what stood out to me was the level of flat-out lies thrown back and forth and how the media failed miserably at fact checking.” The media can start anew this week by fact checking your column, which is full…
‘Inspirational’
Editor: I would like to thank Peri Escarda for her article, “I Remain Unbroken,” in the Jan. 26 Journal. It read like a short story that was so heartwarming, it had me laughing and crying at the same time! It was a beautiful example of how so many of us are struggling right now, but…
Yes, I Use a Fork
Editor: There was a stark difference in the images and coverage of the Women’s March stories in your Jan. 26 issue (“On the March”). The elegant and inspirational language of Dr. King was there — at least in part, in D.C. — alongside supportive signs of men supporting the right thing, and the other clearly…
POTUS NPD
Editor: Thank you for printing Buzz Webb’s listing of symptoms of persons with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (“Mailbox,” Jan. 19). When a national leader exhibits such behavior, it is more than a personal tragedy. It affects national security and the very future of our planet. It clouds a leader’s vision of what are genuine societal problems…
Inauguration Vigil, 2017
Standing in ragged rows, black coats drip, hushed, beneath the drizzle. One hundred or so strong, we face East this morning, toward Washington, D.C., three thousand miles away. On the soggy grass of the Arcata Plaza, an occasional green or yellow umbrella blossoms open. A woman holds a rainbow-colored sign, “Grandmothers for Compassionate Community.” Others…
‘A Treasure’
Editor: I was surprised and delighted to see the article “Wild Medicine” (Jan. 19) about the wisdom of Greta de la Montagne. Greta is a treasure, a walking encyclopedia of knowledge that is too often ignored. I have long believed that everything we need to survive is already here on Earth and Greta’s successful years…
Reawakening, Part II
“You weren’t really a fan of Lyndon Johnson, were you?” a friend asked me suspiciously after the Jan. 19 column I wrote on my least favorite, post World War II presidents. When Johnson took over a traumatized country after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and when he ran against Barry Goldwater the next year, in…
Dance Party with Home Cookin’
Arcata Playhouse is turning 10 and celebrating with a two-day affair starting with a Dance Party with Home Cookin’ (featuring your pals Joyce Hough, Tim Gray, Gary Davidson and Fred Neighbor) on Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ($15, $13 members), and a Variety Night 10th Anniversary Benefit on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m.…
