The restless crowd packed into city council chambers Tuesday night gradually filtered out until only the most hardcore civics enthusiasts remained, as the Eureka City Council meeting was extended, then extended again, stretching until 10:30 p.m. The majority of the four-and-a-half-hour meeting was taken up by public comment on two contentious items: whether or not […]
Kim Bergel
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Albuquerque or Auburn? Eureka City Council Considers Different Models to Address Panhandling
At the Dec. 15 Eureka City Council meeting, City Manager Greg Sparks presented research on an idea from Albuquerque, New Mexico: employing panhandlers to participate in city beautification projects. In 2015, Albuquerque put $50,000 toward providing panhandlers with transportation to and from work and a midday meal before then connecting them with services such as […]
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City Revisits Plan for Sanctioned Homeless Camp
The Eureka City Council agenda for Tues. Dec. 15 went out yesterday replete with a vintage item: discussing the feasibility of a temporary sanctioned homeless camp. Within an hour, it was yoinked back via an emailed retraction, with the note that the item would be back on the table at the Jan. 5 meeting, when […]
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PalCo Marsh Update
Two nights of battering storms had given way to a clear Wednesday morning when Erin Powers-Taylor and Kim Bergel met in the north parking lot of the Bayshore Mall. Powers-Taylor, a volunteer with the Friends of the Marsh Group, which serves a free meal for the marsh homeless every Friday, handed Bergel, a Eureka City […]
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As the 5th District Twists in the Wind, A Look at Rotwein’s Chances
It looks like 5th Division Harbor candidates Patrick Higgins and Susan Rotwein are going to spend some time twisting in the wind. When the smoke cleared, the final Election Night report had 12 votes separating the candidates, with Higgins, the incumbent, having stormed back from an early, vote-by-mail-ballot-driven deficit. Today, the elections office reports that […]
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Eureka City Council Approves Controversial Open Space Property Management Plan
The Eureka City Council approved a plan aimed at reducing the size and number of illegal encampments within city limits last night after hours of passionate public comments. Councilmembers Linda Atkins, Melinda Ciarabellini and Marian Brady all voted in favor of the Open Space Property Management Plan, with Kim Bergel abstaining and Natalie Arroyo offering […]
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City Council to Revisit Open Space Property Management Ordinance; Housing Analysis Timetable Still Unclear
The Eureka Police Department, Humboldt County County Sheriff’s Office and City of Eureka visited the PalCo Marsh area behind the Bayshore Mall yesterday to remove traces of homeless camps. EPD recently announced officers would do less enforcement on a specific area of the marsh, just north of the Bayshore Mall. Campers were told that they must […]
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Homeless in Humboldt Update: Death, Drones and Rallies
A drone video of the PalCo Marsh, known to some as “The Devil’s Playground,” shows camps still firmly entrenched in the wooded area just behind the mall, an area where the Eureka Police Department is preparing to cite and arrest campers. EPD is encouraging people to move north, to the flat area adjacent to the […]
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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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Marsh Homeless’ Eviction Notice is Today, What’s Going to Happen?
“The main thing is to get people here so we can connect as a community,” said Roger Pryor as he laid out bowls of taco fillings on Wednesday, July 22. Pryor is part of a group of advocates dubbed “Friends of the Marsh,” who have been serving weekly lunches in the Bayshore Mall’s north parking […]
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Dancing with the Dems
Local Democrats gathered on Sunday for “Chicken By the Sea,” an annual fundraiser for the party. Hands were shaken, photos taken and chicken grilled to tender perfection, but the real action didn’t start until the dessert auction, with Sen. Mike McGuire calling. Bids for pies and pastries started at a cool $40 and quickly skyrocketed […]