The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has officially determined Terry Lee Thomas’s death to be a homicide. The 63-year-old homeless Eureka man was found bloodied and unresponsive shortly after 8 p.m. on Sept. 8 in the parking lot of the Courthouse Market in the 900 block of Fourth Street. He later died at a local hospital. […]
Homeless
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Multiple Agencies Push Homeless Campers to a “Safer” Place
Kathleen Hytholt doesn’t know where she’s going to go. Hytholt has been living in a makeshift shelter in the greenbelt at the corner of Sixth and T streets in Eureka for two months. She has been homeless for three years. The young people in the camp call her “Mama Kat.” Their kids call her “Grandma […]
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Homicide in Eureka UPDATED With Memorial Information
A memorial for Terry Lee Thomas will be held tonight at the Holiday Inn Express at 6 p.m. Thomas’ sister, Phyllis Thomas, says in the announcement: “We’ve heard that Terry was well liked by all who knew him despite his circumstances. We invite you to come join us to share the experiences and memories you […]
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Marsh Campers Condensed in Wake of Stabbings
The Eureka Police Department and homeless advocacy group Friends of the Marsh are encouraging campers in the PalCo Marsh area to move their camps from directly behind the Bayshore Mall to the northern part of the marsh, away from the abandoned structures and closer to Vigo Street. The push comes in response to two recent […]
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UPDATE: Eureka City Council Tables Controversial Ordinances
UPDATE: Following hours of impassioned debate, the Eureka City Council moved last night to table a controversial ordinance regarding the storage of personal belongings on city property. Public comment on the ordinance lasted for hours, stretching the meeting until 11 p.m. Several dozen people also gathered outside City Hall prior to the meeting to protest […]
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Arkley Volunteers Balloon Track for Possible Homeless Camp. Seriously.
Rob Arkley’s Security National has offered up its Balloon Track property as a potential site for the sanctioned temporary campground for the homeless being proposed by Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills. The offer comes about 18 months after Arkley convened a packed community meeting to discuss homeless issues at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building, where he strongly […]
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Scenes from a Sweep: Images from behind the Bayshore Mall and a look at what’s next
The Eureka Police Department led a multi-agency effort Wednesday to remove what Chief Andrew Mills called a “criminal element that has infiltrated” the network of homeless camps near the railroad tracks behind the Bayshore Mall. Dubbed Operation Safe Trails, the full-day sweep of the encampments involved more than 50 officers from at least seven agencies, […]
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Relief in Samoa
There’s a bright new beacon of hope out on the Samoa Peninsula, which we figure dune lovers and gotta-go antsy foot-hoppers can’t help but appreciate. Yes, it’s a public portable toilet, rented for $80 a month from B&B by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District for the benefit of those frequenting the wilds […]
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A Home With Help
This January, Pacific Builders will begin construction on the 32-unit Arcata Bay Crossing, a residence for people who need special assistance and, in many cases, face homelessness. The $4.5 to $5.7 million “green,” solar-arrayed project — to be funded by grants and loans — is a joint project of Housing Humboldt, Rural Communities Housing Development […]
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Top 10 Stories of 2013
Summing up the tumult and transformations of a year in Humboldt County with only 10 stories is impossible. Collected here are some — definitely not all — of the events that stayed with us. For more on these stories, go to northcoastjournal.com. The Fires The communities tucked along the rivers in our mountains know fire. […]
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Chinn’s Open House
It’s crisp, it’s clean and it smells like fresh lilies in here — and there they are, two big bunches of loveliness sitting on tables inside the spacious main room of the new Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center on the corner of Seventh and C streets in Eureka. A bank of computers lines a back […]
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Voices from The Edge
“This is definitely going to be one of those ‘you don’t look homeless’ days.” The woman making this comment is about 50. With her thick dark hair in a bob, her blue windbreaker and wire-rimmed glasses, she could be a mom on her way to pick up her teenager from soccer practice. But she lives […]