SECOND UPDATE: The Arcata police and fire departments issued a joint press release today stating that their joint investigation has revealed that 52-year-old Kelly Maureen Nichols likely started the fire that ultimately took her life in Arcata on Sept. 10. Further, the investigation found that, after the fire began, neighbors attempted to talk Nichols into […]
humboldt county
Posted inNews
Why Did it Take Two Years for an Embezzlement Sentence to Begin?
Nearly four years after charges were filed — and two years after being sentenced to 180 days in jail for a nearly half-million-dollar embezzlement — Jeffrey Harry Lang began serving his sentence this week. Technically, Lang, who pleaded guilty to one count of felony embezzlement in January 2012, served one day in jail immediately following […]
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The Escalation of ‘Wild Bill’
It was about 2:45 p.m. on May 6, when a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy and a sergeant arrived at a residence on Shelter Cove’s Kelly Road, where 55-year-old William Lloyd Nelson was living. Several weeks earlier, Nelson’s girlfriend of 15 years, and the mother of his son, filed a request for a domestic violence restraining […]
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There’s No Place Like Humboldt: Fourth Coming
Humboldt’s 4th District is the county’s most compact in stature. Wrapping around much of Eureka, up to the Indianola Cutoff and across the bay to Samoa and Fairhaven, the district encompasses Humboldt County’s largest urban area, as well as the county seat. While the district shares similar challenges with the rest of the county, some […]
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There’s No Place Like Humboldt: Wide World of the 5th
Editors note: The Journal attempted to sit down with both candidates for the position of 5th District supervisor for this story. However, incumbent Ryan Sundberg did not respond to at least eight phone calls, three text messages and a pair of emails left for him over the better part of two weeks. We have attempted […]
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You Can Now Stay in Jail Until Dawn
The sheriff’s office today announced several changes to its jail release policy, including a provision that will offer inmates the option to stay in custody until daylight. The sheriff’s office policy, which allows people arrested on drunk in public charges to leave the Humboldt County jail — day or night — once they’ve sobered up, […]
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McKay Tract Community Forest: Five Thumbs Up
The state’s first county-owned community forest is nearly a reality, after the board of supervisors voted unanimously to accept grant funding to purchase a 1,000-acre portion of the McKay Tract on Tuesday. There’s much to do before the land is accessible to the public, though. “The immediate next steps are processing the property transaction and […]
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OK, McKay
Humboldt County’s board of supervisors is almost certain to get the keys to a $6.7 million chunk of property in the next several months — even if a few officials are looking in the gift horse’s mouth. The county — with aid from Eureka and other agencies — has been working on a plan to […]
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GPU Schedule Just A Nudge Off Track
OK, you might agree it’s way more than a nudge off schedule. However, the latest motion by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors only pushes a couple of General Plan Update meeting topics a bit down the calendar. On Tuesday, per County Planning Director Kevin Hamblin’s request, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors canceled the April 7 GPU meeting […]
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Up-stakes for County Camping Ordinance
Hear that huge sigh of relief among cookie-sellers, campaigners, protesters and others wanting to exercise their free speech and sugar-peddling rights over at the swell outdoor digs of the county courthouse? Soon, they’ll no longer be scofflaws when they stake out their awnings on those public premises: Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
#Buhneisback
If your pooch falls ill after devouring a bowl of imported chicken strips, don’t go blaming North Coast State Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa). A bid to allow “negligible” amounts of China-sourced chicken to grace Fido’s chompers recently suffered committee crib-death under Evans’s cold, unblinking gaze. “I’ve spent a lot of time researching this,” Evans […]
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The GPU
There are no two ways about it, Humboldt County is a unique place, says Kevin Hamblin. The county planning director is sitting in his office off H Street in Eureka on a recent afternoon, his window propped open a few inches to let in some fresh air and the sound of pouring rain. Many people […]