Humboldt County is in the midst of a surge of fentanyl-related overdose deaths, alarming local officials who have long braced for the powerful opioid’s impact on the North Coast. Fentanyl has accounted for nearly 50 percent of Humboldt County’s alcohol and other drug (AOD) deaths so far this year, with five overdose deaths logged in […]
William Honsal
Posted inNews
Bracing for Purple
On Nov. 30, Humboldt County Public Health reported that it had confirmed 47 new cases, bringing the county’s cumulative tally nine months into the pandemic to 898 cases and capping the record-setting month with 327 new cases confirmed. Conditions, officials warned, were worsening. In the 36 days between Nov. 30 and Jan. 5, when this […]
Posted inNews
County Says AG’s Push to Extend Monitoring of CWS ‘Waste of Taxpayer Money’
Nearly two years after the California Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Sheriff’s Office reached an agreement regarding an AG investigation into local adherence to the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced today he would be seeking a court order requiring the county […]
Posted inNews
‘Winter has Come’
The face was fresh but the message was familiar: Humboldt County’s COVID-19 case count is spiking at an increasingly rapid rate and may spiral out of control if residents don’t begin wearing facial coverings fastidiously when out in public. Hours before he would be unanimously voted in as Humboldt County’s new health officer, replacing Teresa […]
Posted inNews
County Jail Transfers 30 Inmates to Prison with COVID-19 Restrictions Eased
Thirty Humboldt County jail inmates sentenced to prison terms during the COVID-19 pandemic, some who had been waiting in limbo for months, have now been sent to state prisons, Sheriff William Honsal reported to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Honsal said the state prison system, which has been plagued by COVID-19 outbreaks and worked […]
Posted inNews
Frankovich: Resignation About Family, Not Bullies
At a media availability today following the announcement of her intent to resign as Humboldt County’s health officer, Teresa Frankovich said she intends to stay in the role until the Board of Supervisors finds a full-time replacement. “My intent is to be part of this response ongoing,” she said, adding that she plans to stay […]
Posted inNews
A Pandemic Homecoming: As COVID Spreads Through Prisons, the State is Releasing Inmates Early with Little Planning
It was just days before the July Fourth weekend when Humboldt County Chief Probation Officer Shaun Brenneman got the official word: A handful of state inmates were being released early as COVID-19 continued to tear through state facilities. The released inmates would arrive in a couple days, Brenneman was told, including one who’d tested positive […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt County Law Enforcement Responds to Death of George Floyd
Humboldt County Sherrif William Honsal, Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn and Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson have released statements regarding the arrest and death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd died after a white officer Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest. […]
Posted inNews
Public Health Confirms Three More COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed another three COVID-19 cases, making 36 over the past two weeks and pushing the countywide total to 91. The county got a brief reprieve yesterday when no new cases were reported but remains in the midst of a grim two-weeks stretch that has included a sharp uptick in cases and […]
Posted inNews
For the First Time in Weeks, Public Health Reports No New COVID-19 Cases
For the first time since May 8, Humboldt County Public Health is reporting no new COVID-19 cases today. Today’s zero breaks a grim streak that saw 33 new cases confirmed over the span of 12 days, including the deaths of two Alder Bay Assisted Living residents. To date, the county has confirmed a total of […]
Posted inNews
Triggers and Clusters
When Humboldt County took its first baby step toward easing shelter-in-place restrictions on May 8, allowing retail businesses to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery service, there was an air of hope and optimism to the moment. Officials talked wistfully about how walk-in retail could soon follow, with the prospect of sitting down for a […]
Posted inNews
Public Health: Two More COVID-19 Cases Confirmed Today After 126 Tests
Humboldt County’s spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases continued today, with Public Health announcing two more positive tests. The county has confirmed 33 new cases since May 8, bringing the countywide total to 88. Humboldt County saw its first confirmed COVID-19 fatality Sunday, when a 97-year-old woman living at Alder Bay Assisted Living died of the […]