After more than 30 years toiling in obscurity in the ultra-complex world of battery technology, Kurt Kelty and the other chemists, electrical engineers and minerals experts racing to design the next generation of electric vehicle batteries are at last having their moment. Kelty, who ran Tesla’s battery cell team for more than a decade, now […]
transportation
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Targeted Universalism: A Solution for Inequality?
One in five Latinos in California live in poverty, the highest of any demographic group. Black students trail all other racial and ethnic groups in reading and math proficiency. And Native Americans are worse off today, with an average life expectancy eight years shorter than a decade ago. Despite a suite of well-intended policies aimed […]
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County Climate Action Plan Plods Forward
In the aftermath of the Board of Supervisors voting down the Terra-Gen wind project amid dire global climate forecasts, many have been asking what Humboldt County can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. Well, local governments are working on it and residents have lots of ideas. The state is requiring every […]
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‘A Family to Be With’
Tiffany Strango’s philosophy is to love all children who enter her home as if they are her own. In her Eureka house, children are not pieces of paper and beds are not numbers. They are people and sanctuaries, respectively. Tiffany Strango never had the overwhelming urge to birth children but she and her husband George […]
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New Jail Transportation Assistance Program Will Still Leave Some Arrestees Stranded, At Least Temporarily
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office sent out a press release this week announcing it has revised its program assisting poor arrestees in getting home after they are released from custody to help them “have a better chance to create a healthy lifestyle upon release.” State law has long required that jails offer transportation assistance, upon […]
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A Listicle to Save the World
With all the bleak environmental news out there — climate change, rising sea levels, endangered species, starving abalone — it can be easy to feel lost and disheartened, unsure of what you can do to make a difference. With that in mind, we reached out to a handful of local environmental nonprofits and asked them […]
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Uber Arrives on the North Coast as Company Crisis Continues
There’s a new transportation option in town, but it comes with some baggage. Uber — the online ride sharing service that offers an alternative to taxi cabs — recently made its debut in transportation-starved Humboldt County. But Uber’s expansion comes in the midst of what can only be described as a rough six-week stretch for […]
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The Reluctant Cyclist, part 5
Number of miles ridden: 21 Time traveled: 2 hours 05 minutes 31 seconds Number of times scolded for not wearing helmet: 1 (the scolding worked) Number of times actively feared for life: 3 Due to my bike needing repair and then some time out of town, I hadn’t ridden other than when I pedaled out […]
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The Shortest Distance Between Two Points…
A pair of Arcata streets is slated for improvements over the next several months — a move the city hopes will encourage cyclists to access the city’s busy downtown. T he plan is relatively straightforward, excepting one lopsided detour. The so-called bike boulevard will stretch east-west along the length of 10th Street (including the one […]
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How Green is Humboldt?
As the world readies to celebrate Earth Day on April 22, it seems a fitting time to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Yes, Humboldt County, home to towering redwood trees, flowing rivers and a magnificent coastline, was green before it was cool. It’s a place where folks outfitted their homes with solar […]
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Prairie Creek Scenic Byway Will Close Nights to Prevent Burl Piracy
File under: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. Newton B. Drury Parkway, that languorous, serpentine, redwood-lined scenic bypass through Prairie Creek State Park, will now be closed dusk ’til dawn because of burl-raiding nincompoops. California State Parks announced the closure — effective Saturday at sundown — as a measure to keep people from […]
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Short Sea Doldrums
Remember short sea shipping, that siren who lured us into a maritime reverie some years ago — a fortune-filled dream in which Humboldt Bay once again had a bustling port, helping to reduce transportation costs, air pollution and highway wear-and-tear? Where goods-laden barges — carrying more than just fuel and wood chips — made regular […]