The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors got a preview this morning of the findings of Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo’s listening tour on healthcare provider recruitment and retention, which will be the focus of a community forum later this month. Arroyo, who said she undertook the effort because healthcare delivery is a top constituent concern […]
Steve Madrone
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Supes to Consider Censure of Bongio
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is slated to consider censuring Planning Commission Chair Alan Bongio tomorrow, a month after he made incendiary and offensive comments about local Native tribes, referring to them as “Indians” while intoning they had lied and negotiated in bad faith with a local developer. The agenda item will also see […]
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Latest Election Results: Arroyo’s Lead Grows in the Fourth District Race
The Humboldt County Elections Office released another update on the June election vote tally today. In the Fourth District contest, Natalie Arroyo upped her lead to 52.88 percent of the vote, followed by Mike Newman at 33.30 percent and Kim Bergel at 13.83 percent. If Arroyo can stay above 50 percent mark, she’ll avoid a […]
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Latest Election Results: Arroyo Gains Ground, Nielsen and Cervantes Poised for a Runoff
The numbers changed but not the overall status of local races in the latest round of election results released today. In the Fourth District contest, Natalie Arroyo buoyed her lead to 50.85 percent of the vote, followed by Mike Newman at 34.51 percent and Kim Bergel at 14.66 percent. If Arroyo can stay above 50 […]
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Fifth District: Madrone Cruises to Another Term
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT REPORT: Challenger Larry Doss picked up some ground in the final election night report but continues to trail Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone by a wide margin, with the incumbent having taken 61 percent of the vote to Doss’ 39 percent. FOURTH REPORT: The Fifth District race saw a few more ballots […]
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Supes Talk County COVID Response, Eviction Moratorium and Property Tax Deadline
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors met in special session this morning to ratify Sheriff William Honsal’s declaration of a local emergency in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also heard a variety of staff reports on the county’s response. North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman updated supervisors via teleconference on federal support available and […]
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McKinleyopolis: Humboldt County’s Largest Unincorporated Area Mulls Whether Cityhood is a Path to Prosperity
Some see McKinleyville — Humboldt County’s third-largest population center, and one of its fastest growing — as the 18-year-old high school graduate ready to leave home. The prospect of freedom from parental control is tempting — she’ll finally be able to make her own decisions about where she goes and how she’ll get there. But […]
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Coastal Commission Laments Timeline, ‘Objects’ to Trinidad Hotel Project
A conflicted California Coastal Commission voted 6-3 yesterday to object to the Trinidad Rancheria’s proposed 100-room hotel project on Scenic Drive, finding it inconsistent with state coastal protections. Commissioners made clear during the nearly two-hour hearing in San Diego that the main consistency issue lies with water, and namely whether the city of Trinidad has […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Incredibly Disappointing’
Two days and 600 miles apart, a pair of governing bodies held very different conversations about the need for local input into development decisions that will impact Humboldt County for decades to come. It was a bit jarring. First, on May 7, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors had a testy exchange over a seemingly […]
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After Heated Meeting, Planning Commission Sends Zoning Changes to Supes
For the second time this year, Mercer-Fraser Co., a well-known road construction company, aroused public alarm via a requested zoning change that some fear could endanger the drinking water of more than half of Humboldt County’s population. The company owns a parcel of land next to the Mad River intake wells of the Humboldt Bay […]
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It’s (Almost) Official: Madrone is Humboldt’s Next Fifth District Supervisor
The Humboldt County Elections Office released its final report this afternoon, and the results have challenger Steve Madrone pulling off an improbable upset over two-term incumbent Ryan Sundberg by 118 votes in the Fifth District supervisorial race. Madrone trailed in all the early election night tallies before pulling ahead by a slim 33 votes in the […]
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UPDATE: Madrone’s Fifth District Lead Seems Insurmountable
UPDATE: Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders just told the Journal that the only ballots that remain outstanding in the Fifth District are the up-to-315 provisional ballots from Election Day, which still haven’t been vetted or counted, and another 16 or so vote by mail ballots that have yet to be scanned. With a […]