Long-time local taxpayers’ advocate Leo Sears filed a conflict of interest lawsuit today, alleging that the Humboldt County Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District violated state law when it accepted a loan from Coast Seafoods and then gave the company a lease extension to cultivate oysters on hundreds of acres of tidelands in Humboldt Bay. Specifically, […]
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Impact of Shaded Parcels Settlement Remains Shaded
After three years of litigation over the county’s practice of “shading parcels,” the property rights group HumCPR and the county of Humboldt recently announced they’ve reached a settlement. What that means, however, is far from clear. “We’re grateful to settle, but we’re concerned,” said County Planning and Building Director Kevin Hamblin, adding that he and […]
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UPDATE: No Re-election Bid for Supe Lovelace or Harbor Comish Newman
Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace announced this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in 2016, giving credence to rumors that had been circulating for weeks. It appears he will finish out his term. Several weeks ago Lovelace told the Journal he hadn’t come to a decision yet, and that he hadn’t anticipated making one […]
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Motion to Dismiss Filed in SoHum Murder Case
One of the men accused of killing and robbing a San Francisco man in Southern Humboldt seven years ago is asking a federal judge to dismiss the case against him, arguing that repeated delays have violated his rights and his ability to mount a defense. Ryan Carroll has been behind bars since his January 2010 […]
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Airport Updater: Loans, Z rejection, Portland, and a bigger jet
The county’s Aviation Division is likely to receive some temporary financial relief in the form of an intra-county loan, should the division’s dwindling trust funds be unable to support an ongoing structural deficit. As the Journal reported in March, the division was facing a fiscal year-end deficit of more than $800,000. The aviation enterprise fund […]
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UPDATED: Supes Consider Post-Consolidation Pay Bump for Sheriff
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, after less than 15 minutes of discussion, voted unanimously to approve the pay increase requested for Sheriff Mike Downey to compensate him for the extra duties he’s taking on in the wake of his office consolidating that of the coroner-public administrator. Each member of the board stressed before […]
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Don Clausen Dies
Ferndale native and former North Coast Congressman Don Clausen has died. He was 91. Clausen, a World War II veteran and a Republican who served from 1963 to 1982 in the U.S. House of Representatives, was described in a 2013 Santa Rosa Press Democrat story celebrating his 90th birthday as an ambidextrous baseball player (he […]
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Transformers
It seems like Humboldt County might be running out of golden watches, like one can’t turn a corner without bumping into another official who’s on the way out. After all, a pair of sheriff’s office stalwarts — lieutenants Steve Knight and Dave Morey — recently rode off into the sunset, and County Counsel Wendy Chaitin […]
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UPDATE: Coroner Announces Retirement, Supes Push Toward Consolidation
The board of supervisors voted unanimously today to begin the process of consolidating the sheriff’s office and coroner’s office. The board asked the county administrative officer to draft an ordinance that would fold the employees and functions of the coroner’s office into the sheriff’s department, and create one elected sheriff/coroner position. Humboldt County has had […]
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UPDATE: FINAL Report: Measure P On Solid Ground
FINAL REPORT: Votes cast:28,653 Precincts reporting: 107 of 107 Yes: 59.43 percent No: 40.57 percent Fourth report: Votes cast: 26,140 Precincts reporting: 94 of 107 Yes: 57.91 percent No: 42.09 percent Third Report: Votes cast: 21,684 Precincts reporting: 69 of 107 Yes: 56.11 percent No: 43.89 percent It’s looking like P will win, as expected. The […]
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4TH UPDATE: Tax Measures
4TH UPDATE: Here’s the final Election Night Report, with no changes. All local tax measures have passed, with the notable exception of the 1-percent proposed sales tax increase in Fortuna, which voters rejected decisively. Final report (results shown in percentages) Measure Q (Eureka) – 65.79 for, 34.12 against 5,586 votes cast, 100 percent of precincts […]
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God’s Country
THIS IS MY HUMBOLDT from Ryan Johnson on Vimeo. Humboldt County’s a beautiful place. This isn’t news. But if you could distill days’ full of beauty from scenic vistas throughout the county into a four-and-a-half-minute experience, there would be a novelty factor, right? Well, that’s what local photographer/handyman Ryan Johnson has done. Johnson, who has […]