It’s been more than six months since the Humboldt County Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the permits and permit modifications necessary for local developer Travis Schneider to tear down his partially constructed family mansion overlooking the Fay Slough Wildlife Area. The deal ratified by the commission in July would have seen Schneider avoid up […]
Blue Lake Rancheria
Posted inNews
Developer Agrees to Tear Down Controversial Home, Faces Daily $40K Fines
Local developer Travis Schneider has agreed to remove his partially constructed 20,000-square-foot home on Walker Point Road in an effort to resolve a litany of permit violations that resulted in a county-issued stop-work order on the project in December of 2021. In an April 5 letter to Humboldt County Planning Director John Ford, an attorney […]
Posted inNews
Bongio Steps Down as PlanCo Chair, Commission Approves Letter of Apology to Tribes
Humboldt County Planning Commission Alan Bongio officially stepped down as the commission’s chair before last night’s meeting, at which he and fellow commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter of apology to three Wiyot area tribes stemming from his conduct at a meeting last month. Bongio did not speak at the meeting about stepping down […]
Posted inNews
PlanCo to Consider Formal Letter of Apology to Wiyot Area Tribes
The Humboldt County Planning Commission will consider Thursday sending a letter of apology to three Wiyot area tribes after Commission Chair Alan Bongio’s comments during its Aug. 18 meeting, which tribal officials found deeply offensive. After a representative for local developer Travis Schneider accused the Wiyot Tribe and Blue Lake Rancheria representatives of lying during […]
Posted inNews
Supes to Consider Censure of Bongio
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is slated to consider censuring Planning Commission Chair Alan Bongio tomorrow, a month after he made incendiary and offensive comments about local Native tribes, referring to them as “Indians” while intoning they had lied and negotiated in bad faith with a local developer. The agenda item will also see […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt CSD Board to Consider Stripping Bongio of Presidency
The Humboldt Community Services Board of Directors will consider at its next meeting whether to remove Director Alan Bongio from his role as president amid an ongoing backlash over recent comments made in his role as chair of the Humboldt County Planning Commissioner that left local tribal officials deeply offended and shook their confidence in […]
Posted inNews
Planning Commission Sends Schneider Permit Back to Staff
The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted unanimously last night to send the issue of local developer Travis Schneider’s permits back to staff in an effort to find a path forward that will be agreeable to local tribes and the California Coastal Commission. While Schneider and Commission Chair Alan Bongio expressed deep frustration at a meeting […]
Posted inNews
UPDATE: Planning Director Disputes Developer’s Account as More Permit Problems Arise for Schneider
UPDATE: Planning Director John Ford followed up with the Journal this afternoon after publication of this article to say he’d checked his records and wanted to clarify the timeline surrounding his Jan. 19 conversation with developer Travis Schneider. Ford was adamant that he did not undermine what county planner Cliff Johnson had relayed to Schneider […]
Posted inNews
PlanCo Staff Recommends Approval of Schneider Permit; Documents Shed New Light on Contentious Meeting
A couple weeks after the matter spilled cantankerously into public view, Humboldt County and Building Department staff is recommending the Planning Commission approve the permits necessary to allow a local developer to continue construction of his family home, with some revised conditions, at its meeting tonight. The issue arose after Travis Schneider violated the terms […]
Posted inNews
Blue-green Algae Makes an Early Appearance
Anyone visiting lakes or rivers in the region is being cautioned to look out for blue-green algae after the Blue Lake Rancheria confirmed levels of cyanobacteria at two sample sites on the Mad River this week. The samples were collected at a popular swimming location known as Pump Station 4 and downstream of the city […]
Posted inNews
Native American Curriculum Aims to Bring Culturally Informed Education and Representation to Humboldt County High Schools
Save California Salmon, along with the Blue Lake Rancheria, the Yurok Tribe’s Visitor Center, Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District’s Indian Education Program, Humboldt State University’s Native American Studies Department and the Hoopa High School Water Protector’s club created a curriculum that meets California standards and responds to the state’s “urgent water, climate and educational crises” and […]
Posted inNews
Blue Lake Rancheria Closes Casino Restaurant After Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
Yesterday afternoon, the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe announced that it was “choosing to shut down its restaurants at the Blue Lake Casino after a food and beverage employee tested positive for COVID-19.” On Nov. 3, the tribe began offering free tests for tribal communities as well as all employees who are working for the tribe’s […]