Slideshow

Think of it as a duffel bag full of money — more than $20 million at our disposal to spend as we see fit. It’s actually a modest sum compared to the vast revenues Humboldt County lost in 1999 when the state and federal governments bought the Headwaters Forest from Pacific Lumber Co. There are […]

Around the United States and around the world, to most people the phrase "Humboldt County" can signify any number of things. For instance, some people might immediately think of marijuana. Others? Weed, pot, grass, dope, herb, chronic, reefer … Like it or not, Humboldt County culture is deeply rooted in the production and consumption of […]

The early winter sun shone in a glittery slant onto the bright green grass of the field, on the edge of Arcata, where you had to cross muddy braids of earth and streamlets to get to higher ground. There were cows in a distant corner of the field, noses down. The highway and a busy […]

1. CRASH Ugh, the economy … woe is us. It’s “the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression,” we’re told every few minutes, and Humboldt County can no longer huddle behind the Redwood Curtain. To wit, Samoa’s Evergreen Pulp Mill, which withered in a sluggish global pulp market. The mill somehow changed hands in October […]

For California voters, the two biggest races in the Nov. 4 election were the presidential race and Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Humboldt County voters voted similarly in each of the two races — they chose Barack Obama over John McCain, 62 percent to 34 percent; they voted no on Prop. […]

A tall man in costume runs up and down the aisles of the theater at something near full speed, blowing a saxophone in time with the brass-and-percussion chorus on stage. They’re performing the raucous, upbeat finale — "We’re in the spirit. The holiday spirit!" — and the saxophonist’s impressive foot speed doesn’t seem to affect […]