Editor’s note: This story, which originally ran in the Ferndale Enterprise, includes racist language in quotations from historical newspaper articles. On Sunday, Sept. 30, 1906, one day after a mixed-race workforce of Chinese and Japanese men and white women arrived at the Starbuck-Tallant Co.’s salmon cannery in Port Kenyon, a mass meeting took place in […]
Fortuna
Father, Son Identified as Those Killed in Fortuna Murder-Suicide
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified the two people found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Fortuna on Sunday as Wendell Bott IV, 48, and his son, Wendell Bott V, 20. Fortuna Police Chief Casey Day said police were alerted to the possible murder of Wendell Bott V by a family member who came […]
Fortuna Police Investigating Apparent Murder-Suicide
The Fortuna Police Department is investigating an apparent murder-suicide that left two men dead in a residence on the 2300 block of Newburg Road yesterday afternoon. Police were called to the scene after a “suspected homicide,” with an adult male suspect reportedly armed and barricaded inside the residence, according to a press release. Officers responded […]
Winter Storm Watch: Snow Slated to Start Tuesday, Chance for a Coastal Dusting
Once again, Humboldt County is in the calm before the storm. While Monday’s holiday is expected to be sunny with a high in the mid-50s on the coast and in the mid-to-high 60s inland, the rest of the week’s temperatures are forecast to plummet with each passing day, getting down into the 40s during the […]
Hambro to Open CRV Center in Fortuna
The Fortuna Planning Commission has approved a conditional use permit for Hambro Recycling to open and operate a California Redemption Value (CRV) recycling buy-back center in the Friendly City, providing a service closer to Southern Humboldt residents who currently have to travel to Arcata to sell their CRV recyclables. “We had a booth at the […]
Food Trucks and World Central Kitchen to the Rescue
Three-year-old Leilani Valverde held a partly unwrapped burrito sideways in both hands, took a bite out of the middle and came up smiling. According to her father, Christian Valverde, who brought her with him to the Rio Dell fire department Thursday morning, it was her first hot meal in two days, ever since a 6.4 […]
Fortuna Boil Advisory Lifted
Fortuna residents are no longer advised to boil their water before drinking it, according to City Manager Merritt Perry. “All waterlines have been tested, and the boil water notice can be removed for all locations within the city of Fortuna,” Perry advised. Large portions of the city had been under a boil advisory due to […]
Quake Update: State of Emergency Declared, Two Dead, A Dozen Injured, Shelter Opened in Fortuna, State Funds for Fernbridge and Boil Water Advisories
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal has declared a state of emergency in response to this morning’s magnitude-6.4 earthquake, which left two dead and potentially hundreds displaced while severely damaging Fernbridge. According to a news release, the declaration allows “the county to seek state and federal reimbursement for damage repairs and other associated impacts. The amount of […]
Boil Water Advisory for Rio Dell, Parts of Fortuna
A boil water advisory has been issued for the city of Rio Dell and parts of Fortuna due to today’s magnitude-6.4 earthquake and responding power outage. Residents in Rio Dell and the Forest Hills Subdivision in Fortuna are warned not to drink water without boiling it first or to use bottled water. Water should be […]
Johnson, Mobley and Conley Win in Fortuna
UPDATE: In the final Election Night report, Fortuna voters’ preferences were clear. From a field of five candidates vying for three open seats on the city council, voters pushed incumbent Mike Johnson and challengers Kyle Conley and Christina “Kris” Mobley to victory. Johnson finished with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Mobley’s 24 percent […]
Remains Found in Rohner Park Identified as Missing Fortuna Resident
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified the remains found in Rohner Park last week as belonging to Fortuna resident Lewis William Leckliter III, who was last seen in August. He was 48. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges told the Journal in an email that he was identified by a family member by […]
Supes to Consider Bushnell Censure
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is set Tuesday to consider the public censure of Supervisor Michelle Bushnell after an investigation sustained an allegation that the Second District representative mistreated a Planning Department staff member during a December of 2021 meeting. The staff report states the “board action is limited to public censure,” which would […]
