Crisis on the Klamath
With too little water to go around, the fighting has begun in a zero-sum game pitting farmers against fish and endangered species against one another
Fundraiser for Julie Froblom at Arcata Playhouse
She gets by with a little help from her friends. Local musician and saxophonist extraordinaire Julie Froblom needs a little help, friends. Julie has contracted a rare lung disease and needs a double lung transplant. Clear your calendar on Saturday, May 15 at 7 p.m. when Jenni & David and the Sweet Soul Band perform…
HAPI Holds Humboldt Asian Histories & Futures Panel and Community Conversation
Acquaint yourself with Humboldt’s not-so-illustrious past with an eye and an ear toward making things better at the Humboldt Asian Histories & Futures Panel on Friday, May 14 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom (free). Humboldt Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity’s program brings together community members, historians and local artists to remember Humboldt’s…
Photos: Flying Fish and a Jolly Giant
Next time you’re in Arcata, head for the Creamery District (Ninth and L streets) and check out the two new “Homeward Leaping” stainless steel sculptures that evoke coastal cutthroat trout and the ecosystem of Jolly Giant Creek. Walk the L Street Bike Path between Eighth and Ninth streets to catch a close-up view of the…
County Confirms 41st COVID Death, 18 New Cases, Three New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed Humboldt County’s 41st COVID-19 related death — a resident in their 70s — today, as well as 18 new cases and three new hospitalizations. The cases were reported after laboratories processed 243 samples with a test-positivity rate of 7.4 percent, pushing the county past another grim pandemic milestone to a…
California Mask Mandate Likely to End Soon
If you’re looking for a sign that California is approaching the end of the pandemic, here it is: The state may soon ease workplace rules that require employees to wear face masks and physically distance from each other. Next week, California’s workplace safety agency is set to consider proposed changes to its emergency coronavirus standards…
Native STEAM and TEK Curriculums Coming to Humboldt Classrooms
An educational program created by the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, Humboldt County Office of Education and Northern Humboldt Union High School District, called Pathmakers, is bringing Native American STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Humboldt County classrooms. “There’s a rich Native American presence in Humboldt County, and it’s important that…
Dell’Arte Thesis Festival, May 13-23
Been waiting for the curtain to rise on live theater again? Dell’Arte’s got the green light and is thrilled to present The Cauldron of Destiny Thesis Festival — four original works by the school’s graduating MFA class. Catch the performances May 13 through 16 and May 20 through 23 at 8 p.m. in either the…
Restaurants Need Workers. Would an Employee Vaccine Mandate Bring Them Back?
As they struggle to rehire, owners are navigating whether to require, encourage or reward staff COVID vaccinations. Before implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees at his 15 Chicago restaurants, Fifty/50 Restaurant Group co-founder Scott Weiner did his due diligence. He consulted a lawyer, discussed the idea with his staff, and developed a policy around…
County Remains in Orange Tier, Confirms Four New Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed four new COVID-19 cases today, as well as two new hospitalizations. The four cases — the lowest daily total in more than a month — were confirmed after laboratories processed 84 samples with a test positivity rate of 4.8 percent. Yesterday, the county reported its 40th COVID-related death, along with…
Public Health Confirms County’s 40th COVID Death, 45 New Cases
Humboldt County Public Health reported a 40th local resident — a person in their 60s — has died with COVID-19, while also reporting it has confirmed 45 new cases of the virus since Friday. One new hospitalization was also reported today. According to a state database, nine people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 locally, including four…
Newsom Proposes Expanding California’s Stimulus Checks to Middle Class
At the start of the pandemic a year ago, today’s news would have seemed unimaginable: The Golden State is sitting on a budget surplus so big, it’s considering giving $600 stimulus checks to California workers making up to $75,000, paying off back rent of tenants affected by COVID and helping millions of residents catch up…
Ferndale Man Killed in 101 Crash
A 67-year-old Ferndale resident was killed shortly after midnight today in a crash on U.S. Highway 101 that occurred after a large tree fell across the roadway south of Redcrest, blocking both lanes. The CHP reports the man, whose name has not been released, was in a semi truck traveling south when he hit the…
NCJ Preview: Trouble on the River, COVID Update and Frybread Joy
This week we’re talking about the battle over water on the Klamath, and what it means for farmers, fisheries and Native communities. We’ve also got updates on Humboldt’s COVID case surge and efforts to get people vaccinated. And a new frybread stand has sprung up, spreading Frybread Love around the county — we’ll talk about…
Fortuna-Based Pediatrician Receives $5.1 Million for Youth Mental Health Crisis Residential Facility
With the help of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Children’s Behavioral Health Division, Fortuna-based pediatrician Evan Buxbaum received a $5.1 million grant from the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Grant Program for Children to create the county’s first crisis stabilization and residential treatment center for youth. “Our children had been experiencing…
Humboldt Sees 20 New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed Today
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases today, making 86 so far this week, and no new hospitalizations. According to a state database, 11 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 locally, including three receiving intensive care. Officials are pointing to the local presence of the B.1.1.7 variant for a recent and continuing surge…
Health Officials Urge COVID-19 Testing Amid Case Surge as More Options Opened
Humboldt health officials are urging residents to get tested for COVID-19 amid a recent surge in cases that appears to be tied to the B.1.1.7 variant, which is 50 percent more contagious. “Testing is a crucial component of containing positive cases before they have a chance to spread so we can move past this pandemic,”…
Yurok Connect Launches Internet Benefit Program
The Yurok Reservation’s internet service provider Yurok Connect has launched an Emergency Broadband Benefit program that will provide free digital devices and a monthly service discount to eligible customers. “This new program will provide virtually free internet service to those who are having trouble making ends meet during this challenging time. It is going to…
Mother’s Day Market at HC Fairgrounds
Waited until the last minute to get Mom something this year? Fear not, you have plenty of options and all in one stop at the Mother’s Day Market, happening Saturday, May 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds ($3, kids free). Browse local vendors for just the right gift or…
Weekend Fun in Arcata
Arcata Main Street knows you’re ready for fun and they are serving it up. Legs, tails, whatever you’ve got, walk or flip ’em down to the Arcata Plaza for the Mermaids of May Ball Gown Stroll, happening Saturday, May 8 from noon to 3 p.m. (free). Wear your masks (add a little glitter) and practice…
Condo of Condors Making Themselves at Home, Causing Quite a Scene
With the countdown on to the first California condors making their way back to the wilds of Humboldt County in a century, a group of the endangered birds — a gathering known as a “condo” or a “scarcity” — has taken a liking to one woman’s deck, roof and yard, apparently creating quite the scene.…
Public Health Confirms 13 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 13 new COVID-19 cases today, making 66 so far this week, and no new hospitalizations. According to a state database, 12 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 locally — down from 13 yesterday — including three receiving intensive care. Officials have blamed the recent surge in cases, which saw a…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in downtown Arcata, Friday through Sunday, the second weekend of the month for 2021. Due to COVID-19, there is no gathering, and attendees are asked to keep safe distances, wear facial coverings and observe guidelines in each location. There…
Breezy Start to the Saltwater Season
Mother Nature can be so cruel. In the week leading up to Saturday’s rockfish and Pacific halibut openers, ocean conditions out of Eureka were pristine. Then, as if someone was playing a bad joke, the north winds picked up and the ocean swells grew steep, spoiling the weekend plans of the Eureka fleet. That’s the…
Hominids and Homicide
SASQUATCH. I imagined a collective groan when trailers for Hulu’s Sasquatch rolled across screens on the North Coast. Another exploitative, sensationalist “documentary” on the Emerald Triangle to make a buck off a bunch of curious outsiders, great. That wouldn’t be unfair, given the impact of Murder Mountain. We’re a proud and insular bunch, not necessarily…
Crisis on the Klamath
The federal government is strictly curtailing irrigation this year in an attempt to protect endangered fish important to Indigenous tribes. Farmers say this will make it all but impossible to farm, while tribal groups say the plan doesn’t go far enough to save their fisheries. In mid-April, a farming region in southern Oregon began to…
Two Paths Forward
This has not been a good year for Last Chance Grade. The notoriously unstable stretch of U.S. Highway 101 just south of Crescent City in Del Norte County has been closed several times in recent months due to landslides, stranding travelers, cutting off commerce and — for a time — preventing school children who live…
Sharing the Frybread Love
Watching frybread go from a fist of pale dough pulled from a bucket to its final form, cumulus in shape and caramel in color, is like watching up-close magic. In a straw hat with a kitchen towel hanging from her shoulder, Lisa Sundberg pats, then pulls the dough with practiced hands, turning it to stretch…
Transplanting your Seedlings
OK, so we started our seeds last month (or two weeks ago, or now, if you’re me) and we’re ready to transplant them into the garden or pots. How do you know when the little plants are ready to transplant? Leaves The leaves tell us when the plants are ready. For all seed-bearing plants, the…
Stick the Landing
There’s a good reason getting everyone out the door on-time — with their shoes on — can feel like a major accomplishment for parents. It’s more or less the same reason bedtime is the number one topic parents contact me to discuss. Whether it’s the transition from the living room to the car seat or…
Not So Dark Ages
“All the objects shone in the sunshine as on the day they were buried.” — Basil Brown’s diary, August of 1939. Britain’s “Dark Ages” may have formally ended in a field in Suffolk, England, on July 21, 1939. That’s when archaeologist Peggy Piggott uncovered a tiny gold pyramid encrusted with garnets from the Sutton Hoo…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Created by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century, the Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most famous paintings. It’s hanging in the Louvre museum in Paris. In that same museum is a less renowned version of the Mona Lisa. It depicts the same woman, but she’s unclothed. Made by…
