The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services announced today that $7.5 million in grant funding will pour into the county over the next four years to provide additional mental health services in local schools. Coupled with two additional grants, that means more than $9 million in mental health funding will be coming to […]
Department of Health and Human Services
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State Steps in Amid Surge in HIV Cases
The California Department of Public Health is stepping in amid a dramatic rise in newly diagnosed HIV cases in Humboldt County and officials believe there are at least 35 people in the community who may not be aware they have been exposed and may be infected, according to a Department of Health and Human Services […]
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UPDATE: Health Officials: New HIV Cases Cause of Concern
UPDATE: County health officials released additional information today about a spike in new locally acquired HIV cases that appear to be related. Of the eight people diagnosed so far this year, five are believed to be linked. The public health investigation is ongoing and that number is expected to change. Another 13 cases that came to […]
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Fixing a Broken System
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services and Sheriff’s Office have agreed to a series of overhauls after a California Attorney General’s Office investigation found serious lapses in the local child abuse reporting system. Under the stipulated judgement accepted by a judge last week, DHHS’ Child Welfare Services and the sheriff’s office are […]
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Supes to Consider Public Defender’s $25K Severance Agreement
When the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors convenes tomorrow, it will discuss whether to approve a severance agreement for former Public Defender David Marcus that has already been executed and can’t legally be ratified. The severance agreement, which followed Marcus’ Nov. 22 resignation after nine embattled months on the job and pays him about $25,000, […]
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Update: South Bay District Closes Schools as Norovirus Outbreak Hits
Humboldt County health officials are warning parents about an apparent norovirus outbreak that struck more than 130 students in the South Bay Union School District, along with several staff members this week. The district announced today that it is closing its three campuses beginning Monday and running through Winter Break. “This precautionary measure will prevent […]
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Homeless Count Postponed
This year’s biennial Point-in-Time count will be postponed one month in order to recruit more volunteers to assist the homeless count. The count, scheduled to take place at the end of January, will be pushed back to the early morning hours of Feb. 28. Every year the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities […]
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Restraining Order Blocks Budget Motel Evictions
The city of Eureka’s efforts to shutter the Budget Motel on Fourth Street have been put on hold. This afternoon Bradford Floyd, a local attorney representing the Budget Motel’s owner, David Kushwaha, received a temporary restraining order to halt the city’s plans to clear the property tomorrow. On the heels of a recent code inspection […]
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Opioid Prescription Rates Falling in Humboldt
While Humboldt County still has more opioid prescriptions than people, the county reports it is making headway in battling what has become a nationwide epidemic. The Humboldt County Department of Human Services reported this morning that the amount of opioids prescribed in the county has dropped by 23 percent since 2010, falling from 1.29 prescriptions […]
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UPDATED: Humboldt Dog Tests Positive for Rabies
UPDATE: The 11-month-old dog that was euthanized after contracting rabies earlier this month had undergone its first round of rabies vaccination, which starts at around 3 months old with series of subsequent boosters, and was “legally vaccinated for its age,” said Amanda Ruddy, consumer protection supervisor with the division of Environmental Health. “Of course, with […]
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Grand Jury Blasts Behavioral Health Board for Lack of Oversight
The Humboldt County Behavioral Health Board, which is statutorily tasked with oversight of the delivery of mental health services locally, has been largely ineffective, making few recommendations and failing to deliver its mandated annual reports to the Board of Supervisors, according to a recent report by the Humboldt County grand jury. The grand jury is […]
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UPDATED: Despite Uncertainty, Homeless Container Community Project Plows Forward
UPDATE: The city of Eureka received one response to its request for proposals to help the soon-to-be-displaced homeless people currently residing behind the Bayshore Mall, and it appears to dead on arrival. City Manager Greg Sparks said he’s currently reviewing the proposal submitted by the local nonprofit Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives with an eye on […]