In the video, you can only see Mark Campbell’s hands, blunt-fingered and already pale with clay slip, wedding band still visible as he cups a tilted little volcano of clay turning drunkenly on the wheel. He presses it to a symmetrical cake before scraping the bottom edge to clear the excess. Then digging in at […]
Betty Chinn
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Update: Eureka City Council Approved Allowing Betty Chinn to Open Temporary Homeless Shelter for Women and Families
Update: The Eureka City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to add a retail building across the street from the Betty Kwan Chinn day center to its 2016 Shelter Crisis Declaration, paving the way for its conversion into a temporary shelter for women and families. Before the shelter opens, the Betty Chinn Foundation must […]
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Betty Chinn: Activist
It’s not a title Betty Chinn ever sought out, or even one she thought fit. In fact, when an author got in touch with Chinn to ask about including her in Girl Activist, a children’s book aimed at inspiring girls to make a positive impact in the world, Chinn wasn’t inclined to do it. “I […]
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Transitional Housing Project Moves Forward, Grand Jury Report Underscores Need
Local philanthropist Betty Chinn plans to erect a small transitional housing village out of modular trailers donated by PG&E that have been lying dormant for months on the city-owned Crowley property on the south end of town. PG&E donated the 11 trailers — which it had been using as administrative offices at the Humboldt Bay […]
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Town Hall Focuses on Need for Transitional Housing
Gathered in the Christ Episcopal Church on a windy and wet Saturday afternoon, nearly 40 people talked about homelessness and the need for transitional housing in Humboldt County. Under the stained-glass windows and vaulted ceiling of the nearly 150-year-old church, Reverend Daniel London and his wife Ashley London Bacchi helped facilitate conversations with a panel […]
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Hospital Cuts, Awkward Railroad Talks, Shelter Funding on Tap in Eureka
Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers are expected to ask the Eureka City Council tonight to press St. Joseph Hospital officials to reverse course on the elimination of 35 positions and call a public meeting on patient care issues, including staffing levels. News of the layoffs, which the union has described as retaliatory, […]
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Eureka Council to Mull Shelter Funding, Railroad Proposal Concerns, Cannabis and Patrol Contract
The Eureka City Council will consider Tuesday offering continued support for local philanthropist Betty Chinn’s emergency shelter — set up in the wake of the 2016 PalCo Marsh sweep — with $75,000 housing funds. Also up for discussion is whether to request that the California Attorney General’s Office conduct an “investigative review” into a $10 […]
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We All Need a Hero
When my 6-year-old daughter was afraid to put her head and face under water during swim class recently, I explained what it means to be brave. I said bravery isn’t about a lack of fear — acting without fear is easy. True bravery is when you’re terrified of something but you do it anyway. Some […]
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CNN Names Betty Chinn ‘Hero’
Eureka philanthropist Betty Chinn has been named “this week’s CNN hero.” The network’s Heroes series is designed to “celebrate everyday people changing the world” and showcase “how one person can truly make a difference.” The network accepts nominations annually and showcases one hero weekly, one of whom will be named the network’s hero of the […]
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Eureka Mayor Slams County, Legal Cannabis
The Eureka City Council unanimously approved several hot-button issues on Tuesday night despite an unprecedented amount of pushback from Mayor Frank Jager and a smatter of spirited public comment. The first item to be pulled from the consent calendar for discussion, and the least controversial, was the official swearing-in of Police Chief Steve Watson. City […]
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Eureka Council to Ponder True Ward Map, Watson’s Hiring and Another Chinn Village Tuesday
On Tuesday the Eureka City Council will decide whether to approve new ward boundaries under the city’s True Ward system and whether to move forward with a new transitional housing project spearheaded by Betty Chinn. Included on the city’s consent calendar (items to be passed in one motion without discussion) are a change to the […]
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Goodbye, Chief
Downstairs at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building, a man is sleeping on a bench next to his bike. Upstairs, the family of Thomas McClain, a 22-year-old Eureka resident shot dead by Eureka Police Department officers in 2014, wait for their chance to step up to the podium and confront the departing chief. But between these two signposts […]