The wildfires aren’t just devastating our landscapes, they’re taking a massive toll on the people who fight them. This week we’re talking about the rising PTSD crisis among Cal Fire firefighters and what’s being done to combat it. And the county has struck a deal to shorten Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’ lame duck time. We’ll […]
Karen Paz Dominguez
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County, Paz Dominguez Reach $100k Separation Agreement
The county of Humboldt and embattled county Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez have reached an agreement that has her stepping down effective July 1 and receiving a payment of just more than $92,000, including her salary and “payments in lieu of insurance benefits, and a flat amount of $15,000,” according to an announcement. A county news […]
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It’s Dillingham in a Landslide for Auditor-Controller
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT REPORT: Challenger Cheryl Dillingham has capped a remarkable night in which she jumped out to a huge lead in the auditor-controller race and simply never looked back, finishing with 70 percent of the vote to embattled incumbent Karen Paz Dominguez’s 23 percent, capturing the most decisive win of the night in the […]
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Grand Jury Report Blasts Auditor-Controller, Auditor-Controller Says it’s All Incorrect
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has interjected itself directly into the county’s auditor-controller race. Less than a week before Election Day, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury poured gasoline on what was already considered to be the county’s most contentious political race yesterday, issuing a largely scathing report stating incumbent Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’s […]
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NCJ Preview: All in the Game – Elections and Arcades
With Election Day drawing near, we’re looking at the surprisingly contentious auditor-controller race between Cheryl Dillingham and Karen Paz Dominguez — a race in which the candidates are cordial and supporters are the main source of vitriol. We’ll get into some background and why accounting is such a hot topic these days. And break out […]
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‘Bad Optics’ Hang Over Auditor-Controller Contract
Within weeks of the Humboldt County Auditor-Controller’s Office issuing almost $12,000 in payments to a local consulting firm earlier this year, the firm’s owner, who up until December served as chair of the Humboldt County Central Democratic Committee, voted in favor of the committee’s endorsement of Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’s re-election bid and made a […]
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Auditor Controller’s Report Didn’t Make Supes’ Agenda
Those waiting for a public vetting of the allegations of fiscal mismanagement Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez made at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ March 1 meeting will have a bit more waiting to do. After hearing Paz Dominguez report the “findings” of her ongoing review of the county’s finances, which included a laundry list […]
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Auditor-Controller Working to Meet State’s Hard March 16 Deadline for Delinquent Report
The State Controller’s Office has clarified that the final demand letter sent from the Attorney General’s Office to Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez threatening to fine her $5,000 if she failed to turn in a long-overdue 2019-2020 financial report was not, in fact, a mistake, as Paz Dominguez suggested at the March 1 meeting […]
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State Threatens Auditor-Controller with $5K Fine for Delinquent Fiscal Report
Facing a threat from the State Controller’s Office sent through the California Department of Justice that it intends to exercise all of its authority under the law — including pursuing a $5,000 against her personally — if Humboldt County fails to turn over a statutorily mandated financial statement that’s more than a year overdue, embattled […]
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UPDATED: Supes to Consider No-confidence Vote in Auditor-Controller
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Monday in support of a vote of no confidence in the job performance of elected Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez. Supervisors Michelle Bushnell, Rex Bohn and Virginia Bass voted in favor of the symbolic rebuke, with Mike Wilson and Steve Madrone dissenting. PREVIOUS: The Humboldt County […]
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UPDATE: County Employees Expected to Get Direct Deposits by End of Day, Workforce Board Issues No-Confidence Vote in Auditor-Controller’s Office
UPDATE: Humboldt County Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincey released an update on the county’s payroll problems this afternoon, saying U.S. Bank has confirmed it has what it needs to make direct deposit payments to county employees by the close of business today. “We are in the process of printing out paper checks for employees […]
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Supes Approve Investigation of Auditor-Controller Allegations
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone dissenting, to hire an independent, third-party to investigate allegations of workplace misconduct and delayed payments by the Auditor-Controller’s Office. The closed session vote this afternoon came as the board met to conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation or significant exposure […]