It has been six months since the city dissolved the long-standing homeless camp in the Palco Marsh. The fall’s first storm has visited, bringing with it ripping winds and record rain. At least 30 people spent the storm newly housed, thanks to the efforts of Betty Chinn, the city of Eureka and the Humboldt County […]
Natalie Arroyo
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Eureka Takes Police Video Fight to the Supreme Court
The city of Eureka is trying to keep its recent appellate court loss from setting a statewide precedent. In July, the First District Court of Appeals rebuffed the city’s effort to block release of a video depicting the arrest of a 14-year-old suspect, ruling that the video — and others like it — could not […]
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City of Eureka: Pick Up Your Stuff
On Tuesday night the Eureka City Council voted 4-0, with councilmember Kim Bergel absent, to approve a Storage of Personal Property Ordinance that will allow the police department to tag, then bag property left on city land. The ordinance comes as a response to recent issues with people leaving items behind after staying in designated […]
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Who Gets a Vote in Eureka? Ballot Measure Set For November.
Eureka voters and their representatives appear to be fairly fired up about democracy, although they have a different opinions about how that democracy is best expressed. This was apparent in Tuesday night’s city council meeting, in which the council voted 3-2, with Marian Brady and Melinda Ciarabellini dissenting, to put an item on the November […]
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Council Moves forward with Container Community for the Homeless
After an outpouring of critical public comment, the Eureka City Council opted last night to move forward with a proposal to create a temporary homeless living arrangement in a vacant lot on the corner of Third and Commercial streets. In a 4-1 vote, with Councilmember Linda Ciarabellini dissenting, the council amended its shelter crisis declaration […]
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Korean War Veterans Honored at Weekend Ceremony
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman presented more than 70 local Korean War veterans with medals from the government of the Republic of Korea on Saturday at a ceremony in the Adorni Center. The Ambassador for Peace medals were awarded in appreciation from the people of the Republic of Korea to those who served in the […]
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After Bitter Debate, Eureka Declares Shelter Crisis
Public comment was brief, compared to previous meetings on the subject of homelessness. Only around 30 citizens came up to the podium to address the city council about the proposed declaration of a citywide shelter crisis. The declaration, originally proposed by Councilmember Linda Atkins, was reworked by city staff before being put before the council […]
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Eureka City Council Butting Heads With Staff & Each Other on Homelessness
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 […]
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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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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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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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5TH UPDATE: The Council Races
5th UPDATE: The final tallies are in… The only nail biter race appears to be in Eureka’s Ward 3, where challenger Kim Bergel trails incumbent Mike Newman by just 104 votes. It’s currently unclear how many provisional and vote by mail ballots remain to be counted in Eureka, so it’s hard to tell if Bergel […]