The Humboldt County Fair Board has “laid off” General Manager Richard Conway, the Ferndale Enterprise has confirmed. The Enterprise reported on Twitter this morning that Board President Andy Titus said the decision was made to part ways with Conway after seven years due to “large financial problems, no fair and lack of work.” The Enterprise […]
Humboldt County Fair Association
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State, Fair Association, County in Standoff Over Sunshine Laws
Some nine months after the Humboldt County Fair Association and the county of Humboldt entered into an eight-year lease agreement for the association to operate the county-owned Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale, the lease still hasn’t been ratified by the state, the last step toward making it official. The county, HCFA and California Department of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
New Fairgrounds Lease Leaves the Public in the Dark
In case you missed it, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided Oct. 16 that you don’t get to have input into how the county fairgrounds are operated or how public funds are spent to maintain them. The board voted 4-1, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson dissenting, to approve an eight-year lease with the […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
County of Humboldt, Please End the Madness in Ferndale
In a few weeks, the fairgrounds in Ferndale will be awash with the smell of fry oil and children’s gleeful screams as the 122nd annual Humboldt County Fair gets underway. Meanwhile, the Humboldt County Fair Association — the nonprofit that runs the fair — and the county of Humboldt have been meeting behind closed doors […]
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Humboldt County Fair Board Responds to Enterprise Settlement
Humboldt County Fair Association General Manager Richard Conway issued a statement today in response to questions about a legal settlement the association paid to the Ferndale Enterprise, covered in this week’s Journal. In his statement, Conway blames the HCFA’s failure last April to provide Titus with a document requested under the California Public Records Act […]
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Fair Fight
Caroline Titus was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. The editor and publisher of the Ferndale Enterprise, who spent the better part of the last two years in a successful court battle with the Humboldt County Fair Association, alleging violation of her First Amendment rights and the wrongful termination of Titus’ husband, […]
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Fair Association Ordered to Pay $45K in Attorney Fees
A local judge has ordered the Humboldt County Fair Association to pay more than $45,000 in attorney’s fees to a Davis lawyer who successfully represented Ferndale Enterprise Publisher Caroline Titus in her public records lawsuit against the association. Titus filed suit in April seeking access to the association’s financial records after multiple requests under the […]
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Tituses Get $150K in Fair Board Settlement
The Humboldt County Fair Association has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by its former General Manager, Stuart Titus, and his wife Caroline, agreeing to pay the couple $150,000. Describing the lawsuit as “all consuming,” Caroline Titus told the Journal that she and Stuart are happy to put it behind them and move forward. The […]
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UPDATED: Musical Venues
UPDATED: Pure Entertainment announced on its Facebook page that tonight’s show has been canceled after the headliner apparently pulled out for unknown reasons. “Unfortunately Kid Ink will not be able to make it tonight,” the site states. “Since the headliner won’t be able to make it, I feel rescheduling the show to a later date […]
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Johanna Rodoni Was at County Fair Board Meeting the Night of Her DUI Arrest
Johanna Rodoni, a local cattle rancher, executive director of the Buckeye Conservancy and a former county supervisor, attended a meeting of the Humboldt County Fair Association Monday evening before getting arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. Rodoni is a longtime member of the fair association’s board of directors. The board meeting adjourned at about 8:30 […]