The red pandas will not be the only ones in masks at the Sequoia Park Zoo starting July 7. Visitors will need to make reservations online, which is meant to limit crowds, and wear masks on the premises. (Do not make a fuss over this — even the howler monkeys find it overdramatic.) One-way paths […]
shelter in place
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NCJ Preview: Servers Under Pressure, Risking Bars and Barbecues, and Voting by Mail
This week’s conversation with Access Humboldt starts with the flak Humboldt restaurant staff are taking from patrons who don’t want to wear masks. On top of the stresses of increased protocols during the pandemic and exposure to scores of local and visiting customers, it’s a lot. And while opening bars is a concern, Humboldt’s public […]
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Restaurant Mask Drama
Manuel Martinez was only 20 minutes into his shift bussing tables at Golden Harvest last weekend when he spotted a customer walking in without a mask. When Martinez asked if he had one, the man turned hostile. “He said, ‘Fuck you guys,” and just turned around and left,” says Martinez. In 16 years of restaurant work […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Rough Waters
The water level on the Trinity River is just right and the hot summer weather is ideal. But a month after local white-water rafting businesses received approval to reopen from county and U.S. Forest Service officials, company owners say that reservation numbers are still modest. School and church groups have all canceled and the absence […]
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Mazzotti’s Shutters in Response to Statewide Closures
Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order today shutting down indoor restaurants and other indoor businesses in 19 California counties due to rising COVID-19 infection rates, Mazzotti’s on the Plaza owner Joseph Mazzotti has closed the Italian eatery, at least for now. In a Facebook post, Mazzotti wrote the closure would be until further notice. “Our staff, […]
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‘It Is Not Safe:’ Frankovich Warns Against Gatherings, Mingling Households
With Humboldt County Public Health having confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases over the past week and statewide case counts increasing by the thousands day after day, county Health Officer Teresa Frankovich began her June 30 media availability not with a reporter’s question but with a warning. “I’m guessing most people in the county have been […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Oyster Fest Re-imagined
For those of us who don’t make it to the blocked-off plaza early enough, the annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival begins with the distance event of hiking from somewhere in the belly of the Creamery District where we’ve parked. It can end with the same challenge, though with increased wobbliness and decreased navigational skill. This […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Pandemic Beach Finds
I was born on the beach. Actually, it was about 4 feet above the beach. My mother was a competitive beach volleyball player. She leapt for a big spike and I found myself momentarily suspended in mid-air before falling on my face in the sand. Mom screamed, “Game point!” and scooted me and my placenta […]
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NCJ Preview: Know Your Public Health Officer and Jamaican Home Cooking
We’re talking about Humboldt’s Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich, profiled in this week’s issue. New to her post but with a long resume behind her, colleagues say she’s weathering the controversies of masking and sheltering with grace. And Eureka welcomes Jerk Kitchen’s Dell Bryan and Joanne Kerr, who are bringing Jamaican cuisine to Humboldt. Hit […]
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Drive-through Dinners at the Mateel
SoHum is taking drive-through cuisine next level starting next week with a rotating roster of chefs creating Friday night to-go meals you can pick up at the Mateel Community Center. Guest chef Annikah Hogan kicks off the summer’s offerings on June 26 from 4-9 p.m. with “Ginger Lemongrass Pulled Pork, Asian coleslaw, coconut rice, shrimp, […]
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The Pots Smell Good
In Christiana, the rural town in Jamaica’s Manchester Parish where his grandmother lived, Dell Bryan learned to cook from her. His wife of 35 years, Joanne Kerr, explains they were both born in the capital city of Kingston, but “he would live with his mom in Kingston for six months, then she would send him […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Corona Gardens are the New Victory Garden
Back on March 19, my landscaping assistant and I were out working when we heard from friends that Humboldt was under a shelter-in-place order starting later that evening. We decided to hit up one of the local nurseries to pick up some seeds for friends, as well as for our own gardens. As a landscaper, […]