Steve Watson is not the kind of man who lets things go. Walking down Third Street, past the St. Vincent de Paul cafeteria, he initially passes the group of men who are standing with bikes and dogs waiting for the doors to open with a short greeting and nod. Then he pauses. “I smell marijuana,” […]
Andy Mills
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Almost 50 Guns Surrendered in Eureka Buy Back
The Eureka Police Department took almost 50 guns off the streets last weekend in a two-day buy back program that gave people a chance to surrender their firearms, no questions asked. Capt. Steve Watson said a total of 48 guns — 26 handguns, 12 shotguns and 10 rifles — were turned in during the event, […]
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Evictions Ongoing in PalCo Marsh
There were more reporters, police and clergy than homeless people in the PalCo Marsh this morning as the City of Eureka made a final sweep of the area, forcibly evicting those remaining in the camps. As of 7:30 a.m. at least half of the residents remained, according to accounts, despite repeated warnings over the last […]
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Mills Mulls Prison Reform With Gov. Brown, Other Chiefs
Eureka Police Department Chief Andy Mills and police chiefs from around the state met with Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday, March 17 at the 2016 California Police Chiefs Association Symposium to discuss Brown’s November ballot initiative, which would ostensibly streamline the early release of nonviolent offenders from prison. The proposal — allowing corrections officials to […]
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Mayor Jager Joins Pro-Camp Camp
On the evening of Tuesday, Mar. 1, the Eureka City Council unanimously approved a resolution to support the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction’s needle supply program, opted to send the Eureka Police Department’s little-used mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle back to the federal government and, after a smatter of discussion and dissent, approve changes to […]
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City of Eureka Poised to Embrace Needle Exchange, Oust Panhandlers
Brandie Wilson, founder of Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR), says her organization has saved at least a dozen lives in 2016, thanks to its distribution of Naloxone, an opiate overdose reversal drug. HACHR has been able to give Naloxone to drug users within Humboldt County, along with 2,000 clean needles. Now the Eureka […]
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City Mulls Shelter Crisis as Activists Protest Police Presence in PalCo Marsh
Tomorrow evening the Eureka City Council will meet to discuss two items related to the city’s homeless: the feasibility of a temporary, sanctioned camp and whether or not the city should declare a shelter crisis. City Manager Greg Sparks said a site has been identified as a potential temporary camp, a city-owned parking lot at […]
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City Revisits Plan for Sanctioned Homeless Camp
The Eureka City Council agenda for Tues. Dec. 15 went out yesterday replete with a vintage item: discussing the feasibility of a temporary sanctioned homeless camp. Within an hour, it was yoinked back via an emailed retraction, with the note that the item would be back on the table at the Jan. 5 meeting, when […]
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Mills Releases Details of Officer Involved Shooting, Identifies Suspect
At a press conference this afternoon to discuss Sunday’s shootout that left a California Highway Patrol Officer wounded and a suspect dead on Q Street, Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills said the involved officer showed incredible discipline in the face of a dangerous, dynamic and intimidating situation. “As we grow up, each of us looks […]
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Mills, Frustrated, Shelves Gun Ordinance
Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills has pulled his proposed gun control ordinance, saying his department is going to focus on an education campaign urging people not to leave weapons unattended in their homes and businesses. Mills, with guidance from the city attorney, had developed a proposed ordinance requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms […]
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Chief Mills Proposes Gun Control Law
On the Eureka Police Department’s official blog, Chief Andy Mills announced he is asking the city attorney to draft an ordinance that will require Eureka gun owners to lock up unattended weapons. Mills wrote that the law is in response to recent guns thefts, including one from a gun dealer, and will apply to firearms […]
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City Council to Revisit Open Space Property Management Ordinance; Housing Analysis Timetable Still Unclear
The Eureka Police Department, Humboldt County County Sheriff’s Office and City of Eureka visited the PalCo Marsh area behind the Bayshore Mall yesterday to remove traces of homeless camps. EPD recently announced officers would do less enforcement on a specific area of the marsh, just north of the Bayshore Mall. Campers were told that they must […]