Humboldt Sentinel

Gabe Talamantes caught up in undercover sting at south Broadway motel

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Eureka’s Problem Oriented Policing unit scored yet another drug bust thanks to the work of undercover cops.

Eureka Police Department personnel converged yesterday evening at a south Broadway motel after an officer who concealed his identity arranged a drug sale over the phone. EPD had been tipped off that a male subject named “Gabe” was selling cocaine, and the undercover agent agreed to buy an “eight ball” or one-eighth ounce quantity of cocaine.

Gabriel Talamantes, 33, arrived at the unnamed motel at about 5:50 p.m. yesterday, according to a press statement by EPD sergeant Steve Watson. He had arranged to meet the undercover cop to sell cocaine to him, and when investigators opened the door, they took Talamantes into custody without incident.

Upon conducting a search, EPD personnel say they located a sealed plastic baggie containing the 8-ball of cocaine in Talamantes’ pants pocket. Inside a plastic Pelican case the suspect was carrying, investigators found a digital gram scale and two more sealed baggies of cocaine, totaling one ounce or 25.7 grams of gross weight.

Gabriel Talamantes

Talamantes was booked at Humboldt County jail for transportation and possession of cocaine for sale, and for violation of the conditions of probation, meaning he is ineligible for bail.

Members of the public with information concerning drug sales in Eureka are asked to call the POP unit at (707) 441-4373 or the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at (707) 444-8095.

Accused suspect also had guns, scale and other materials at home

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

One more alleged meth dealer is apparently off the street after the Problem Oriented Policing unit swung into action on the south side of Eureka yesterday.

At about 4:24 p.m. yesterday, a Eureka Police Department POP investigator conducted a routine traffic stop on a white Chevrolet at the intersection of E and Hodgson Street, obstensably for vehicle code infractions. The driver, 27-year-old Fidel Alberto Contreras (also known as Fidel Munguia) was on probation for a previous controlled substances conviction, and thus was subject to immediate search. The search uncovered a secret compartment, within which were seven small Ziploc baggies containing 22 grams of crystal methamphetamine individually packaged for sale, according to a press statement by sergeant Steve Watson.

Fidel Contreras

Contreras was arrested on the scene, and in his pockets, the cops found $1,767 in cash, which was suspected to originate from illegal drug sales. Also in his pockets were three cell phones. All this led to an EPD investigation of Contreras’ residence on the 3200 block of D Street, where detectives found a loaded .380 chrome semi-automatic pistol with two boxes of ammunition — items which are illegal for someone on probation to possess. Police also found a digital gram scale and empty drug sales packaging materials, along with evidence of an indoor marijuana growing operation, including two rooms with beds, soil and grow lights, but no plants.

The suspect was booked on charges of possession and transportation of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and violation of the conditions of probation, and at this hour Contreras is still in Humboldt County jail.

Members of the public with information concerning drug sales or criminal activity in Eureka are asked to call the POP unit at (707) 441-4373.

Zach Scott allegedly tore through yard before abandoning moving vehicle

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

An at-large parolee is in jail today after an early morning chase led Eureka Police Department personnel through a southside residential neighborhood.

At about 2:30 a.m. this morning, an EPD patrolman on Highway 101 observed a white 1993 Isuzu Rodeo sports utility vehicle exit a gas station on West Harris Street. When the cop bean following the SUV to obtain its license plate number, the driver made several turns and, according to lieutenant Steve Watson, began driving evasively to avoid him.

After heading north on California Street from the gas station, the driver turned west on West Henderson Street and then made a quick southbound swerve onto Union Street. The cop observed the SUV slide through the intersection of Union and West Russ Street, striking the curb and travelling over it on West Russ and into the yard of a residence on the 400 block. The vehicle kept driving westbound through the yard and back on West Russ Street.

The SUV accelerated through a stop sign at West Russ and Albee Street, at which point the patrolman activated his overhead emergency lights and attempted to stop the suspect for reckless driving, as the Isuzu was travelling at an estimated 40 to 50 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood. The suspect just kept on driving through the intersection with South Spring Street, where he turned south; he continued to ignore the cop’s siren and blew through the stop sign at Spring and West Harris Street and headed south on Elizabeth Street.

Just after the intersection of Elizabeth and West Everding Street, the driver braked suddenly in the middle of the roadway, after which he and his passenger jumped from the vehicle was it was still moving. The male driver fled west on foot through the yard of a nearby residence, while the female passenger fell to her knees in the same yard. The unmanned SUV kept rolling and went over a curb and onto the raised concrete porch of a residence on the 3200 block of Elizabeth Street, where it damaged three ceramic flower pots and two plastic flower pots on or near the porch.

Zachary Scott

Upon questioning by EPD, the passenger identified the driver as “Zach” and upon a records search crosschecked with the Isuzu’s license plate, the cops came up with a prior police contact where a Zachary Scott had been associated with the vehicle. The 31-year-old man was noted to be on active parole from state prison through the Californa Department of Corrections.

By this point, an EPD K-9 team arrived on scene to track down the suspect, and canine unit “Jimmy” alerted to a nearby residence, where Scott was taken into custody at about 3 a.m. According to the unnamed resident, Scott had entered the home through a window, although the suspect claimed to be an acquaintance of the resident. After CHP responded to take a traffic collision report, the SUV was towed from the scene, and the uninjured passenger was released without charges.

Scott remains in Humboldt County jail on charges of felony evading, resisting arrest, hit and run, driving on an expired license and violation of his parole.

Lance Henry of Fortuna allegedly became violently resistant to cops

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

It’s a new year, but the same old tensions persist between the Eureka Police Department and some elements within Occupy Eureka.

Five arrests just today have reignited what law enforcement and local elected officials see as a public safety hazard at the county seat; Occupy Eureka ringleaders, on the other hand, see this as a continuing campaign to silence their protest, and have called a Monday press conference to expose an “unlawful government conspiracy.”

At about 1:42 a.m. this morning, an EPD patrolman traveling eastbound on Fifth Street was passing the Humboldt County Courthouse when he noticed the American flag and California Republic flag being lowered on the flagpole located at the front lawn near the corner of Fifth and I Street. The flagpole is also behind the chain link fence and “No Trespassing” signs erected by the County over a month ago to keep the Occupy Eureka protestors from re-establishing their encampment — an unpermitted campsite which county staff alleges to have done significant damage to the front lawn which requires restoration.

When the cop parked his patrol car and walked up to the six-foot fence to investigate, he saw on the other side a suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Lance Henry of Fortuna, standing at the base of the flagpole holding both flags, still attached to the line on the flagpole. According to a press statement by sergeant Adam Laird, the officer asked Henry what he was doing, and was told that he was putting up his own flag. After the unnamed public servant told Henry to put the flags back up, Henry refused and allegedly said “you think you can control me.”

Lance Henry

After that, according to the EPD narrative, Henry removed the flags from the line and put them on the ground, and then Henry affixed a homemade cardboard sign to the line while stepping on the American flag. As other EPD personnel arrived on scene, two of them entered the fenced off area and walked towards Henry’s location — which didn’t come unexpectedly, as several individuals from the area of the Occupy Eureka protest site began yelling warnings to Henry that the cops were approaching.

Upon contacting Henry and attempting to arrest him for trespassing, the suspect allegedly became violently resistant towards the cops, and after a short struggle in which a third EPD officer became involved, they were able to take Henry into custody. He was booked on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest using violence, and due to his violent resistance in accordance with EPD policy, Henry was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for medical clearance before being incarcerated in county jail.

Accounts differ between the EPD and members of Occupy Eureka on what Henry’s connection was to their protest; the proprietor of Occupy Eureka’s Facebook page (who refuses to be identified) calls the suspect “a man that no one present seemed to recognize” and that his sign read “Yaweh,” a term with no apparent connection to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Occupy Eureka participate Sarah Jones-Jurado later alleged on Facebook that “someone was tazed for flying a peace flag.”

Law enforcement’s version of events claim that Henry, when interviewed after his arrest, said he was “moved” to join Occupy Eureka, and that these protestors provided him with cardboard and a marker to make his sign upon his arrival. Henry also allegedly claimed, when asked why he violently resisted arrest, that law enforcement didn’t have “any authority” over him.

All these events transpired shortly after four arrests took place for illegal camping at the Occupy Eureka protest site. EPD had visited the county courthouse at 12:46 a.m. on Friday to respond to numerous complaints of camping on county property, and the cops say they found nine subjects camping underneath the courthouse steps. According to Laird, several of the subjects stated that they were misled by undisclosed persons associated with Occupy Eureka that it was lawful to camp at the courthouse. All of these individuals were issued citations for unlawfully camping in public, and were advised that they were subject to arrest if they attempted to lodge themselves on the courthouse property.

EPD followed through on the threat, and at 12:53 a.m. on Saturday morning, law enforcement converged on the courthouse to arrest four campers who allegedly were “unlawfully lodging” at the courthouse. Laird identified the arrested as 23-year-old Daniel Mattheis of Arcata, 47-year-old James Turner of Eureka, 25-year-old Leroy Abernathy of Bremerton, Washington and 39-year-old Loyd Smith of La Crescenta.

Occupy Eureka claims the four were arrested for “being in sleeping bags” and that EPD told one occupier that they were going to start arresting people again because the camping tickets “aren’t working.”

Kim "Verbena Lea" Starr

Even though it was denied in the past that Kim Starr (who goes by the pen name ‘Verbena Lea’) was a spokesperson for Occupy Eureka, a press conference has been set for Monday at 1 p.m. where Starr will speak on behalf of Occupy Eureka. She claims in a statement posted on Facebook that she will confront a “Secret & Outrageous Premise for Police Actions Against Non-Violent Protesters” through documents she claims to have discovered.

Starr/Verbena has at various times accused virtually every local law enforcement agency, the county, the cities of Arcata and Eureka, most local media outlets (including the Sentinel) and even the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of engaging in various conspiracies against her and her various associated groups. In a possibly related devel0pment, Occupy Eureka also claims that several of their posts on Facebook have mysteriously vanished.

Daniel Mattheis

James Turner

Leroy Abernathy

Loyd Smith

Councilmember Marian Brady pulls unexplained disappearing act from votes

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

New amendments introduced to building regulations tonight will make it easier to construct, restore and rent out carriage houses and other ancillary structures as secondary dwellings, otherwise known as ‘mother-in-law’ units.

With next to zero public comment and the stamps of approval from the Historic and Design Review Commission and the Planning Commission already given late last year, the Eureka City Council wasted little time in unanimously adopting the three sequentially numbered bills.

Unanimously, that is, with 4-0 votes; First Ward Councilmember Marian Brady slipped out at the start of the first public hearing, saying she was “recusing herself” with absolutely no further explanation.

Even though it’s entirely possible that Brady, or Brady’s immediate family, has a personal investment in a historic structure and/or a property with a secondary dwelling unit, public interest legal experts tell the Sentinel that this is insufficient to create a specific personal benefit via the passage of an ordinance with city-wide implications in terms of zoning and building standards. There’s also no justification under state law for such a recusal — and any recusal due to a conflict of interest must be specifically disclosed, according to Government Code Section 18702.5:

(b) Content & Timing of Identification: The public official shall, following the announcement of the agenda item to be discussed or voted upon but before either the discussion or vote commences, do all of the following:

(1) The public official shall publicly identify:

(A) Each type of economic interest held by the public official which is involved in the decision and gives rise to the conflict of interest (i.e. investment, business position, interest in real property, personal financial effect, or the receipt or promise of income or gifts), and

(B) The following details identifying the economic interest(s):
(i) if an investment, the name of the business entity in which each investment is held;
(ii) if a business position, a general description of the business activity in which the business entity is engaged as well as the name of the business entity;
(iii) if real property, the address or another indication of the location of the property, unless the property is the public official’s principal or personal residence, in which case, identification that the property is a residence;
(iv) if income or gifts, then identification of the source; and
(v) if personal financial effect, then identification of the expense, liability, asset or income affected.

(2) Form of Identification: If the governmental decision is to be made during an open session of a public meeting, the public identification shall be made orally and shall be made part of the official public record.

The specter of a false recusal isn’t new to Humboldt County politics.

Arcata’s deposed ex-Councilmember Harmony Groves, since relocated to Marin County, staged a false recusal in her first year of office in 2005 when the subject of civilian review over the Arcata Police Department came up on a City Council agenda. Even though there was no specific ordinance being introduced and the item only carried the prospect of providing direction to the City Attorney on the development of such a law, Groves declared that she couldn’t be in the room to discuss such a proposal because she worked with one of the community members who was present to provide testimony — a claim which has no basis in the aforementioned law.

Unlike tonight’s votes in Eureka, however, Groves’ absence left the mid-2000s Arcata Council deadlocked 2-2 on the subject of police review, and they never took up the issue again. These housing ordinances provided a rare show of unity between remaining Councilmembers, as it represented their first step as a body in implementing their newly revised Strategic Visioning document for Eureka’s future.

“One small unit at a time is a nice way to add affordable housing, it doesn’t overwhelm our infrastructure,” Second Ward Councilmember Linda Atkins said, referring to the ability of owners to rent out mother-in-law units without the requirement that they live on the same property.

Eureka’s ordinances, presuming they are formally adopted in two weeks after their introduction tonight, greatly increase the number of areas in which secondary units are allowed without special permits; these include Multi-Family, Office Residential, Hospital Medical and Commercial zones. In the last three years, 11 applications for secondary units have been received — however, eight of these were from property owners caught in a code violation who were trying to legalize existing uses.

Wake planned for redevelopment

In his close-of-meeting report, city manager Dave Tyson said the Council may need to hold a special meeting later this month to have the City take up the mantle of successor to the Eureka Redevelopment Agency; all redevelopment agencies in California were eliminated by the State Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown last year, and the state Supreme Court put the final nail in the coffin last week in a ruling which also threw out an attempted work-around allowing cities and counties to fund the continuation of their agencies.

“The [California] Supreme Court didn’t just kill redevelopment, they ruled to trigger an entire funeral procession on redevelopment as we know it,” Tyson said. “Hopefully we’ll salvage something.”

Mayor Frank Jager noted that several employees in City Hall were paid for by the redevelopment agency, and asked for an update on what those positions were and how the Council might compensate for the loss of funding. Tyson replied that the General Fund could see significant impacts, as the salaries of most top city officials were partially paid through redevelopment.

If the City of Eureka took over the assets of the redevelopment agency, an oversight committee consisting of a Councilmember, two Humboldt County Supervisors, a member of the county Board of Education and a director from the largest special district in the county would form. This oversight committee would monitor the actions of the Council in regards to former agency property — and would even have veto power over these actions.

In addition

The fuzzy feelings about the Strategic Visioning plans moving forward only lasted until open public comment; Henderson Center resident Neal Latt distributed a letter from the Coastal Commission which slammed the city’s plan to extend Waterfront Drive through the PALCO Marsh as triply non-compliant with the Coastal Act.

“Any further monies spent on this would best be spent elsewhere,” Latt said. “It’s irrational and irresponsible.”

The evening’s public safety report from fire chief Ken Woods came with welcome news of a $200,002 grant awarded to install fire sprinklers and alarms in two fire houses and the Eureka Fire Department headquarters. Woods, who heads a joint Humboldt Bay Fire effort which includes Humboldt Fire District No. 1, is looking to upgrade EFD personnel training to have paramedics, instead of emergency medical technicians, on the crews of all fire engines — as is the standard already at HFD.

When Woods mentioned the formation of a committee to look at the replacement of a 35-year-old ladder truck with a new vehicle, Brady suggested he pick up surplus fire equipment to save money. The fire chief begged to differ.

“They have a lot more miles, the pumps have a lot more usage on them, you’re really buying something that has a potential for problems in a lot of areas,” Woods said.

The Council also reshuffled their appointments and alternate positions on various local joint powers authorities. Atkins’ position on the newly controversial Humboldt Waste Management Authority has been handed to Fifth Ward Councilmember Lance Madsen, who said he’d like to take on additional duties as he recovers his health after an extended hospitalization last year.

Two young men of unknown identity sought by EPD

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Gun-toting robbers struck last night at the Subway chain outlet at the Eureka Mall.

At about 8:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Eureka Police Department personnel responded to a reported robbery at the business, located on the 800 block of West Harris Street. Upon arrival, EPD servants were told by employees that two suspects entered the business, one of which displayed a handgun and demanded all the money in the register while shoving a sales clerk to the floor. The other accomplice was also shouting orders and demanding money.

According to a press statement by detective sergeant Patrick O’Neill, police were notified by another Subway employee who was able to slip away and notify police via the robbery alarm. Both suspects fled the restaurant with an undisclosed amount of money, and are still at large at this hour.

The first suspect was described as a white male in his late teens to early 20s, approximately 5’6″ and 130 pounds, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and a ski mask. The other suspect was described as a Native American male in his late teens to early 20s, approximately 5’6″ and 130 pounds, with black hair down to his ears, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and a ski mask.

EPD is continuing its investigation and plans to release further details; members of the public with any information on this case are asked to contact EPD detective Todd Wilcox of the Criminal Investigations Section at (707) 441-4300.

Ubaldo Mendez in county lockup pending extradition out of the US

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The Problem Oriented Policing unit continues its campaign against drug traffickers in the local community.

Eureka Police Department POP members arrested Ubaldo Mendez at 2:30 p.m. yesterday on charges of possession of heroin for sale as well as trafficking heroin. The EPD found Mendez at the Bear River Casino gas station in Loleta, where they seized an ounce of heroin from his vehicle.

The unit acted upon intelligence which informed them that street-level heroin dealers from Eureka were traveling to the casino mini mart to meet their connection and purchase one-ounce quantities of smack.

The name which arose concerning the heroin connection went by “Shorty” and an EPD detective called his phone number to place a heroin order. According to a press statement by EPD chief Murl Harpham, the subject answering to the name of Shorty told the detective to go to the Loleta Casino gas station and call back after he arrived. Shortly thereafter, the cop called Shorty back and told him he was at the gas station; “Shorty” replied that his runner would be there in ten minutes.

The POP detective, disguised in plain clothes, was in the parking lot waiting when the suspect known as Shorty called back to ask why he hadn’t contacted the runner; the detective was then informed that the runner was already in the parking lot driving a white sports utility vehicle. Upon scanning the parking lot, the cop saw only one white SUV, a white Ford Expedition.

The undercover policeman drove past the SUV, making eye contact with the driver, and parked three spaces away. The driver exited the SUV as the cop exited his vehicle, making eye contact again. At this point, according to the EPD, the detective displayed his police badge and approached the runner in the driver’s seat of the SUV as another POP vehicle blocked it in from the rear and another POP detective approached the runner from the passenger side. Mendez was then arrested without incident, and upon searching the truck, an ounce of heroin was found in the cupholder on the console.

Mendez was found to have more than $700 cash on his person, as well as an uncashed paycheck from a dairy in Ferndale. He was taken to Humboldt County jail, where he remains, as he has been determined to be an illegal alien who was previously deported from the country.

Price tag estimated at half a billion dollars

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

HUMBOLDT COUNTY has entertained many far-reaching and costly proposals over the years ranging from a Hershey’s’ chocolate factory, a WWII aircraft carrier for Humboldt Bay tourists, a Cousteau aquarium and research center, a rare stuffed animal emporium, water export bladder bags, a LNG facility financed by Goldman Sachs, and an Olympic swimming pool complex gracing the Adorni waterfront, among others.  Attorney Bill Barnum’s Tuesday evening presentation before the Eureka City Council Chambers brought us the latest flight of fancy to the fore.

MR. BARNUM is asking for a $250,000 feasibility study on the prospects of building a spanking new 130 mile long east-west corridor railroad– costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million– or perhaps much more.  No one really knows how much it will cost, what the benefits would be, or who would pay for it.  Hence the proposed study helping put the word ease back into feasibility.

“WE don’t know who’s going to do it, and we don’t know who’s going to pay for it, but we’d like the idea positively identified for a look,” Barnum said, joined by members of RAPIT (Rail and Port Infrastructure Taskforce), Bill Bertain and Pete Oringer.

POSSIBLY named after its founders, the aptly entitled B & O Railroad would advance the need for jobs and infrastructure by transporting goods from Humboldt Bay to Cottonwood.  Shipping goods from Asia would benefit from a half day reduction time– compared to other west coast ports– by traveling to Humboldt Bay and then eastward to the connecting north and south freight and rail lines to Seattle, Long Beach, and even east to Chicago.  The former north-south NWP line is defunct, vexed, hammered, and plagued by the constant repairs, deterioration, and the unstable geography of the Eel River Canyon.  The new line, as proposed, would ride on top of the landscape ridges eliminating major repairs of unstable terrain.  Mr. Barnum argues the cost-effective benefits of a new 130 mile rail line to the east would likely exceed the ongoing repairs and maintenance of the old 350 mile NWP line to the south. The Barnum family owns significant land and timber holdings in the county — though he denies any financial interest in real estate in the Redwood Valley watershed through which the newly proposed line would traverse.

BARNUM said the idea for an east-west line originated 140 years ago– but lost out to competing rail construction that connected Eureka south to San Francisco Bay when demand for North Coast redwood timber spiked after the 1906 earthquake and consequent reconstruction.

HANK SIMS of the Lost Coast Outpost offered us a little history and his cranky take on the subject when the idea was brought before the Fortuna City Council in August:

But the best part of all, to my mind, is the official voice the council will give to the totally insane idea of building an entirely new railroad to the region, eastward through the Trinity National Forest! Railroad redundancy!

From time to time you hear the RAPIT people whisper about this, er, ambitious, scheme.  Specifics are never given because no specifics exist… The resolution passed by the council refers to “the possibility of a rail line from Eureka/Fairhaven east to the Red Bluff area utilizing the 1909 Jess Lentell route and field notes from his reconnoitering.”   This “Jess Lentell,” it turns out, is JN Lentell, the early Humboldt County mapmaker whose reproductions you can still find for sale today…

At the turn of the last century he was hooked up with a bunch of local dudes going under the name of “Humboldt & Eastern RR” who wanted to beat the early Northwestern Pacific to the shores of Humboldt Bay.  Their plan — the same plan Fortuna (and Eureka) is talking about tonight, I guess — was to go east to Red Bluff, and to finance construction of the railroad through the sale of publicly owned timber in the Trinity National Forest. The feds gave this plan a big thumbs-up.  At the time, a shocked Sierra Club called it “by far the largest amount of timber ever offered for sale by the Forest Service.”

Mr. Sims continued his effervescence by asking where the cash is:

…The crazy train pulls into Eureka City Hall tonight, where a curious amalgam of choo-choo fans will seek some kind of boost for its new feverish dream of someone, somewhere, building a whole new railroad line from Eureka to the Central Valley, across the Trinity goddamn Alps.  They’re seriously fired up about this!

Even if Six Rivers National Forest and dozens or hundreds of private landholders forked over right-of-way out of the goodness of their hearts, even if the thing were legally unchallengeable on all conceivable environmental grounds, you’d still be looking at, what — a billion dollars?  Billions of dollars?  Even Alaska’s famous Bridge to Nowhere was gonna cost as much as $400 million.

So let’s go ahead and provisionally say billions for a train to, uh, Eureka.  Who’s forking out that kind of cash for so little these days, and where do I sign up?

Will the Eureka City Council go where Fortuna dared not tread?  Stay tuned!

Eureka Councilmember Linda Atkins said she supports the idea of a study but wanted private funds to pay for the expensive endeavor outside of government monies. Councilmember Marian Brady wanted the idea of a trail following alongside the rail route as a ‘win-win’ situation for trail advocates. Councilmember Mike Newman pushed the rail momentum forward by asking to see it placed back on the agenda in January so they can vote on a resolution.

In the end, the Eureka city council was in favor of passing a resolution for the study, asking it be placed on a future agenda for further discussion.

************

Pete Nichols, co-founder of Humboldt Baykeeper, weighed in with his comments about the whimsical rail whopper to the Humboldt Herald yesterday:

Lunatics…

I am curious about funding a feasibility study for something that is not at all feasible or practical? After witnessing the $200K that Dave Hull extorted from Headwaters Fund the ‘feasible’ Deep Marine Terminal, I and a majority of the community are weary of these ‘glory days’ proposals we are seeing surface in a climate where that line of thinking just does not work.

I cannot believe a ‘new’ rail line in this day and age that does not move people, and traverses some of the most unstable and rugged terrain in CA? How about we pitch in and buy you folks a topo map and a USGS Soil Survey and call it a wash?….. in the holiday spirit and all, …..and forget this silly idea even materialized. How ’bout we focus on trails, restoration, and real local jobs where folks need not be ‘greeters’. That is what this community wants.

Here’s an idea….how about the ‘rail enthusiasts’ run their train from Samoa to the Marsh where visitors can then get off the train and rent bikes. Then they ride around the Bay to F Street Dock where the Madaket picks them up and takes them across the Bay back to where they started……..jobs, trains, tourism, and the environment. Now that I would advocate for at the Headwaters Fund!

Bill Barnum, in reply, made his brief retort available for readers:

Pete, you sound like the conservatives in the 1960?s who labeled JFK a lunatic for wanting to land a man on the moon within the decade. We achieved that. So, 130 miles of new rail does not seem so far-fetched.

Anyway, we are not breaking out the bulldozers just yet. We simply want a feasibility study by one of the leading railroad engineering firms. Don’t get hurt feelings if we don’t rely on… Pete for the answers.

Merry Christmas!

Other readers made their points as well:

“Why is landing on the moon always part of the conversation about railroads and Humboldt County?”

“This would be actual infrastructure that would provide actual, tangible benefits and genuine changes to the economic, social, and cultural realities of Humboldt County. So naturally it will be ignored by “serious people” who will continue to do nothing. Humboldt can benefit greatly from three things: Rail to the Central Valley, an active Port in the bay, and improved telecom infrastructure. If you develop these things, you have an actual economic base and future in the area…. Humboldt can support a small port, light manufacturing and other light industrial, and businesses that provide services using telecom infrastructure.”

“Eureka to Red Bluff? Wow. If you’ve ever taken Hwy 36 to or from Red Bluff, then you’ve got some idea what that terrain looks like. Now imagine trying to put a railroad through there. It would be quite an engineering feat, to say the least… It almost makes me wonder if the idea is to make re-opening the existing north-south rail line through the Eel River Canyon sounds a little less outlandish, at least compared to the idea of blasting a whole new line to the east.”

“The City of Eureka has decided goals for the next year in their 2011 Strategic Visioning:
the never-ending discussion over Cutten Annexation, the development of the McKay Tract, boosting revenues, booting out the homeless, “keeping families here,” developing the waterfront, updating the city’s general plan, hiring more cops ~and — I’ll be (expletive deleted)… the never-say-die Waterfront Drive Extension Project, which the Coastal Commission and the Coastal Conservancy have both long promised to torpedo. Watch for Alice and the Mad Hatter at the next meeting. Down the rabbit hole!”

“As long as Renner’s monopoly on gas supply isn’t threatened like the old north/south line did, then I imagine there will be fewer tunnel fires and rail issues.”

“Anyone know how much of the proposed area between Eureka and Red Bluff is owned by the Barnum timber family?”

And still more weighed in with their cogent thoughts… or less:

“Hiring a railroad engineering firm to do a feasibility study will be a slam-dunk. (remember when Eureka spent tens of thousands of dollars on a respected, independent economic firm that concluded Eureka was saturated in low-wage retail in 1999!).  If this area’s ‘Big Barnums’ had community-interest in mind, they would finally drop their ‘free-market’ Voodoo and hire independent professionals to complete a comprehensive economic feasibility study first and determine what industries could actually come once the train is completed.  You know…to make sure it’s not just another handful of good ol’ boys hoping for easy money harvesting the gravel on Great-Granddaddy’s riverbanks… Humboldt’s ‘Big Barnums’ played their local-role in the economic collapse, and they’re busy at the courthouse fighting to maintain their ‘God-granted freedom’ to make a killing on the next housing bubble!  How they retain credibility is the blessing of ubiquitous media self-censorship.  Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like an inconvenient legacy.”

“So let them study it. As long as I don’t have to pay for it, it’s no skin off of my nose.”

“Restoring the rail line is not for some tourist type amusement but for commerce. If it is possible it would aid in the development of the harbor and would create many good paying jobs. One of the things that government is supposed to do is create & maintain our infrastructure. This feasibility study is the government’s responsibility. Those of you who say it can’t be done and shouldn’t be even studied sound like you are descendents of the people that made fun of the Orville & Wright brothers.”

“Obviously you need to understand international shipping. The large shipping companies (the guys with the boats) choose the ports with the best profit margins for the shippers. So any port can entice shipping lines to not only call at the port, but to invest in infrastructure at that port.  As for building it, they will come…”

“We need Cape Canaveral West on the Samoa Peninsula! Think of all the jobs! I want a study NOW! Personally, I think regular blimp service would have less environmental impact, but people might think that’s crazy.”

What do you think? Is the new rail proposal an economic reality to pin Humboldt’s visionary dreams on– or is it a tunnel vision pie in the sky fiscal nightmare?

 Additional information and opinions can be found at:

The Lost Coast Outpost and here, in addition to Hank’s map of the Phantom Train route here.

The Humboldt Herald

The Times-Standard

Robert Benefield held on $100,000 bail

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

State and local law enforcement agencies coordinated their efforts to catch the alleged robber of a local gas station.

At about 12:37 a.m. yesterday morning, Eureka Police Department officers responded to reports of a robbery at the Chevron station on the 2800 block of Broadway in Eureka. According to eyewitness reports, a suspect approached the clerk, purchased some items, then demanded money from the cash register, fleeing the area after receiving an undisclosed amount of money.

California Highway Patrol personnel happened to be in the area at the time, and they unsuccessfully gave chase of the suspect, who escaped through the green belt area west of the Chevron station. At the time, the suspect was described as a white male in his mid 20s, approximately 6’2″, 180 pounds with dirty blond facial hair, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement developed a person of interest in the crime, determining that they had probable cause to identify and arrest Robert David Benefield, 21 of Eureka. EPD and CHP commenced a countywide search for the alleged robber.

At about 10:44 a.m. this morning, detectives responded to a home at the 1000 block of Adkins Road in McKinleyville in an attempt to locate the man. Benefield was contacted and apprehended at this location without incident, and was taken to EPD headquarters for an interview prior to his booking at Humboldt County jail on robbery charges. His bail is set at $100,000.

The Criminal Investigations Section of EPD continues their investigation; the department promises more details will be released, according to a press statement by sergeant Patrick O’Neill. Members of the public with further information regarding this are asked to call the EPD CIS at (707) 441-4300.

Annexation of Cutten, consolidation of services, extension of Waterfront Drive all talked up

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Many community members have a vision for Eureka’s future, but only one is set to have the official City Hall stamp of approval.

‘Strategic Visioning 2011,’ the result of a series of poorly-attended, non-televised community forums held at odd hours of the day this fall in various out-of-the-way locales, seeks to continue the same game plan pursued by top city brass for years.

“The City of Eureka faces multiple, complex challenges, among them are the trends of growing demands for local
services and limited financial resources,” the introduction of the plan states. “The Mayor and City Council are looking to chart a course and create a vision for the future that will ensure our financial viability as well as our standards of living.”

In particular, the extension of Waterfront Drive, despite years of stalwart opposition by environmental groups, state transportation officials and the Coastal Commission, is improbably scheduled to continue it’s snails-pace progress. The long-term prospect of punching a road through protected wetlands from the Bayshore Mall area at south end of Eureka to the north edge of PALCO Marsh at the foot of Del Norte Street looks as bleak as ever; thus, the short term goal in the new plan is to complete a small segment in Old Town linking 1st Street at its intersection with G Street to the north end of Waterfront Drive fronting the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center and the Adorni Center.

Also high on the talked-about-much, done-about-little list of the past decade is the annexation of suburban areas around Eureka which heavily impact its traffic and public utility systems, especially Cutten. The push for annexation looks to be developing more momentum with the plans of county officials and Green Diamond timber company to turn the eastern fringe of Cutten into a publicly-owned community forest — public, that is, meaning control by the County of Humboldt and not by the City of Eureka.

While staff at the Community Development Department claim that they aren’t currently working on any annexation activity, the plan speaks openly of annexing the three McKay tracts currently proposed for housing and commercial development — and in doing so, creating the pretext for swallowing up all of Cutten.

“[It] would create an undesirable island of Cutten,” the plan states. “Therefore the annexation of Cutten should be considered as part of the McKay tracts annexation.”

Also on deck is an expansion of the city’s Sphere of Influence, the first step towards outright incorporation of new territory, in the Indianola area. This unincorporated suburb in between Arcata and Eureka has faced long-term water issues which would be solved if they could tap into the water main currently running right past them to serve the entire city.

Any proposal for annexation will require a lengthy, and expensive, study process and eventual application to the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is controlled by a representative from the county and ones from each of the local cities. The plan further states that a community outreach scheme would have to result in positive responses from local residents in order to proceed, with these scoping sessions to take place in the later half of 2012, according to a timeline developed by Councilmembers Linda Atkins and Melinda Ciarabellini.

Less controversial elements of the plan include the continued consolidation of fire services between the Eureka Fire Department and Humboldt Fire District No. 1, with a joint Fire Chief and a new joint badge under the moniker of ‘Humboldt Bay Fire’ already implemented. City officials are also looking at the consolidation of dispatch services between the Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office — a move which could improve response times, not to mention the associated cost savings.

Water was thrown on the idea of expanding the city’s role in encouraging local preferences for the expenditure of Eureka’s tax dollars. The current policy of granting a 5% preference to local firms in the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment is set to be evaluated, with expansion of this rule to construction contracting appearing unlikely.

“Initial review of the complex legal and geopolitical issues associated with implementing a local preference in contracting policy have led to the conclusion that the benefits of such a policy in Eureka would be low and the costs would be relatively high,” the plan states.

The entire Strategic Visioning 2011 document, up for approval at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, can be viewed on the city’s website at ci.eureka.ca.gov.

In addition

A bevy of ordinance approvals, following up their introduction at the Dec. 6 meeting, are likely to fly by with just as little public comment. These include the gutting of Eureka’s campaign contribution limits, an amendment to sewer use rules, and revision of its Housing Element to allow for greater leeway in zoning requirements for emergency shelters and special needs housing.

The City Council is also set to extend its moratorium against its own medical cannabis ordinance to continue to disallow the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries inside city limits. The initial 45-day ban is proposed to be extended for another ten-and-a-half months while legal staff continue to scramble to come up with a coherent response to federal threats of prosecution against local governments who, in obeying state law to allow medical cannabis patients to access their medicine, run afoul of federal controlled substances regulations.

On the Consent Calendar is the rejection of a claim by local attorney and landowner Greg Casagrande over the breaking of a water main at the corner of 2nd and I Street in front of the former Has Beans Cafe. Casagrande’s claim includes allegations that city staff allowed a water main break to linger for days without adequate repairs, causing flooding and possible structural damage to his building. Such a claim rejection is business-as-usual for City Hall, despite the potential for a civil lawsuit; their policy is to refer all possible tort cases to the Redwood Empire Municipal Insurance Fund, which then has the authority to reach an out-of-court settlement.

The last City Council meeting of 2011 begins at 6 p.m. on Dec. 20, and includes public comment time near the beginning of the session.

New information kiosk to celebrate three-month anniversary tomorrow

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Eureka’s version of Occupy Wall Street has been accused of many things — but timidity isn’t on the list.

Huge fences, mass arrests and repeated take-downs of their tents, signs and prior information booths at the Humboldt County Courthouse over the last six weeks has yet to completely clear away their ranks from the front steps.

To celebrate the three-month mark of Occupy Wall Street’s formation in New York City, Occupy Eureka is planning yet another reconstruction of its information kiosk tomorrow, and is challenging local law enforcement to one more showdown before the year runs out.

“We demand the Eureka police and Humboldt Sheriff’s [deputies] produce legal documentation to justify their relentless attacks on protesters’ civil liberties and human rights,” Occupy Eureka spokesperson Jack Nounnan stated in a release.

Occupy Eureka claims, somewhat conversely, that they will “defy” the Eureka Municipal Code section outlawing non-permitted camping, and that the municipal codes are misinterpreted when applied to prohibit the construction of all shelters against the elements — even if the only thing being sheltered is a table with literature on it.

“This even is part of a movement-wide call to ‘re-occupy’ in the wake of coordinated attacks and subsequent evictions of occupations across the nation and around the world,” Nounnan stated.

The unveiling of the new kiosk will take place at Noon on Saturday, Dec. 17 — which is also the one-year anniversary of the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, whose death sparked the start of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in Middle East nations such as Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

WALMART: FROM HUSH-HUSH TO… WE’RE HERE!

SINCE the Humboldt’s Sentinel’s report last week and Wednesday confirming the likelihood of Walmart’s existence in Humboldt County– along with other blogs and media sources reporting the same– the blogosphere has weighed in, ad nauseam, with several hundred comments across the board posted on various sites.

WHETHER Walmart is good for the community is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

BUT what hasn’t been explained yet is whether City officials knew– and when they knew it. It remains a glaring and unanswered question. Why were plans kept under a cloak of secrecy until now—when the Times-Standard reported it was the local media inquiries coming in that prompted the company to finally announce its plans?

SOME of the local comments found from around the web:

I hope everyone remembers the absolute arrogance of the current city council and city manager and their total disregard for the public’s right to know what is going on in their community!

This goes far beyond whether or not WalMart is good for our community. The public has a right and a need to know in order to make informed democratic republican decisions. The city council and city manager have withheld this information from us for months. Who are they serving?

If Eureka had a majority of community-oriented representatives, they would have called for a public vote, considering that 61% voted against Walmart 10 years ago. Even Jeff Leonard cleverly won his second term by running on a platform of limiting the size of future big boxes…before changing his mind, once elected. Otherwise, Walmart would not be here today.

Hmm, it seems someone is coming into town through the backdoor. Other large businesses have come in, but I bet there will not be as big of an uproar as will be heard about this one.

“If you don’t like Walmart DO NOT SHOP THERE! For those of us that are excited, let us be happy about it.”

“Welcome to the 21st Century Eureka! Now bring in a Home Depot.”

“We never get screwed at Walmart. Now we won’t have to go to Oregon as much to shop.”

“A lot of people don’t like Walmart and say negative things about it….but a lot of people are right when they say this competition will bring down the prices at other stores….wait and see.”

“FINALLY! And it doesn’t matter what, who or why, Humboldt County and Eureka have an economic boost. It’s hard for me to see that anyone could argue against this!”

“In some cities though, it’s illegal to advertise that which is not yet open. If you want to discuss corporate store opening secrecy, check out Apple and their store openings. They straight up mask whole buildings to hide what’s going on and all sorts of odd things.”

AS one can see, the opinions vary widely across the board. People like Walmart. Or not. Given that, we hope City officials can explain their ethical position of why these plans were only recently given the light of day to the community they serve. Unless, of course, they claim deaf ignorance of the matter truly knowing nothing.

MORE local opinions can be found at:

the Times-Standard

the North Coast Journal

Tom Sebourn’s blog (a fine commentary and must-read posts)

the Humboldt Herald

WHILE we don’t always subscribe to her point of view, Verbena had her own sharply written to-the-point commentary that was particularly relevant to the subject at hand and bearing special merit for readers to consider.

‘TIS the season to be jolly and jingle all the way, so lets leave you on an amusingly happy note.

LAST SNIPPETS, RUMORS AND HEARSAY MURMERS:

TIME OUT BETWEEN 215 and 420: No new medical marijuana dispensaries will be permitted in Humboldt County for at least 45 days after the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday approving a temporary moratorium. The moratorium will not affect the three medical marijuana dispensaries that are currently operating in the county under conditional use permits from the Humboldt County Planning Commission but will apply to those other eight dispensaries that have submitted applications to open new dispensaries. The moratorium could be extended for up to 180 days. Indoor cannabis grows were also limited to 50 square feet much to the dismay of floral horticulturalists, medicine makers, and modern moonshine profiteers.

Humboldt County Community Services Director Kirk Girard said the new ordinance will “be enforced upon complaint” because there’s no registration or permitting required in place for grows. Only if complaints are received about a grow residence would the ordinance be enforced. Good fences, good relations, and complying with the law should make for good neighbors. Outdoor grow ordinances will be next on the slate of regulatory reefer concerns set before the Board in the coming months.

WE’RE IN THE MONEY: Humboldt County’s Headwaters Fund is searching for at least one new board member. Could it be you? The multi-million dollar fund offers grants for infrastructure projects and economic development opportunities in the county. Business owners in one of the local industry clusters, such as tourism and manufacturing, are highly encouraged to apply. An application can be found online at http://www.theheadwatersfund.org/. The application deadline is December 30 and the term begins in March serving on the County’s most powerful and flush piggy bank boards made available to the public. The pay? Heh-heh.  Zilch, nada, zippo. Never mind, sticky fingers: It’s all part of your civic service that’s long overdue.

SCALAWAGS AND SKULLDUGGERY meet Trusty Rusty and EFD’s fire stuff.

HEALTH IS WEALTH mas y menos: People can have Humboldt County public health information delivered straight to their computer, phone, or mobile device via the Humboldt Health Alert website. The website http://humboldthealthalert.org/ provides up-to-date information about emergent health issues that affect the residents of, and visitors to, Humboldt County. It’s a project of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Branch. Technology is only as good as how you use it. Be aware or be square or be dead. Your choice. And wash those hands with hot soapy water like you were told.

CHANGE OF HEART: Spending nearly two months in jail, four defendants pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanor charges for their roles trimming marijuana at a Bridgeville grow. Deputy District Attorney Allan Dollison said his office changed course after reexamining the case and the 54 days the defendants served behind bars. Early in the case, some defense attorneys expressed irksome dismay at DA Gallegos’ stance that marijuana trimmers should be expected to plead guilty to felonies based on the premise they’re as culpable in the criminal offenses of cultivation and possession for sales as those masterminding the grow operations.

DAMN DAMS: Ex-Humboldt County Supervisor Jill Duffy is an environmental analyst for the Humboldt County Public Works Department assigned to the Klamath Restoration Agreements. She responded to columnist Dan Walters’ Nov. 25 article, “A Huge Gift to Buffett, Oregon,” where he stated, “the bottom line is that with interest on the bonds it’s a half-billion-dollar gift from California taxpayers to Oregon farmers and (Warren) Buffett.” Ms. Duffy weighs in her two cents for the pricey dam removal to the Sacramento Bee.

GIMME SHELTER: “Its ability to aid Arcata’s needy sapped by funding shortfalls, a depleted staff and board of directors and several high-tab equipment malfunctions, the North Coast Resource Center (NCRC) is taking a time out… As part of the restructuring, the NCRC hopes to hire a new executive director, administrative manager/director/grant writer, operations manager and case worker. In addition three “strong” board members are joining the NCRC, leaving five slots still open. Longtime NCRC Director John Shelter is leaving the organization, Schulze said…” Kevin Hoover and the Arcata Eye report much more regarding the NCRC closure, restructuring, repairs, plans and the December 15 press release.

Time out?  The NCRC has hit the skids crashing and burning to the ground.  Unless it rises from the ashes like a phoenix, it’s going to be a cold winter for some– and a hard rains a-gonna fall.

MAN’S BEST FRIEND : Goodbye, Jimi. No, not the consummate gentleman and 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith whom we always wish the best for. It’s the other Jimi serving the Eureka Police Department admirably for years. Canine “Jimi” is close to retirement, and plans have been made to replace him with a new dog. EPD’s K-9 Unit recently started a fundraising campaign to purchase another patrol dog in recent weeks with the police department holding a raffle and various fundraising efforts to help pay for a new canine and provide training for the dog and handler, raising about $12,000. EPD is still in the process of raising funds to acquire a bullet and knife-resistant vest to protect the new K9 at a cost of about $2,500. Anyone wishing to contribute may send a check to the “EPD K-9 Fund” at 604 C St., Eureka, CA 95501.

In a perfect world every officer would have a faithful and loyal companion by his side through thick and thin, good times and bad, watching over him (or her) just like Jimi did. Happy trails to you, Jimi. You done good.

SOMETHING Eureka Councilmember Marian Brady said sure did get Mr. Sims’ dander up this week. Making comments before the County Planning Commission about the hidden beauty of billboards as noted in the Lost Coast Outpost’s column here and here, she drew the ire of Mr. Sims who succinctly asked, “Cui bono?” Meaning, to whose benefit did this serve?  We had to Google that.  Cui prodest, Hank.

EUREKA’S TEMPORARY EXTREME WINTER SHELTER is almost here: Eureka Councilmember Michael Newman reported it’s nearing completion due to the dedicated collaborative efforts of many private businesses, nonprofits, and Lynette Mullen of the District Attorney’s Office. We applaud these efforts– they don’t go unnoticed given the near freezing temperatures in the coming weeks. Let’s expire our good efforts before others expire on the streets.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT COULD BE RIGHT but merging is so much easier. Santa Rosa’s REACH Air Medical Services has jointly merged with Cal-Ore Life Flight of Brookings, Oregon. The two companies collaborated on patient transport services for years, but expect their combination will enable them to operate a broader network more efficiently. REACH employs more than 300 people who operate 13 helicopter bases and one airplane base in California, Oregon and Texas. The regular airplane base is at Sacramento Executive Airport. Cal-Ore Life Flight operates eight ground ambulances, seven fixed-wing air ambulances and a remote scene support helicopter, as well as a facility providing aviation products. The company has more than 70 employees at bases in Eureka, Crescent City, and the Oregon towns of Gold Beach and Brookings.

MALL STORE CLOSING: Pacific Sunwear of California Inc, a popular teen clothing store specializing in skate and surf-inspired clothing may is closing its doors in some locations. Officials are not announcing which stores will close– including the Bayshore Mall location– or the number of jobs and teenagers that would be aimlessly lost with nowhere to go.

Honeydew Post Office

POST OFFICE REPRIEVE: Neighborhood Post Office closures may be delayed but it’s unsure which of the 3,700 locations will make the pending cut or save list. Blocksburg, Honeydew, Kneeland, Korbel, and Weott offices are on the nation’s iffy column of snail mail.

SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A RAINY DAY was sage advice by the grandparents: We have lots of those days and hope we don’t get hit with continued falling home prices like those experienced in San Francisco and Southern California. Happily, developers still maintain plans for building more Humboldt homes and the labor market is perking up nationally… unless the dark fiscal winds of Europe reach our shores as Reuters and the Fed suggest. Sorry to put a damper on things, folks. We don’t write ‘em, we just report ‘em. No wonder Grandma kept squares of foil, coils of used string, and hoarded sugar and Bisquick since 1967 in her cupboard. She remembers what rainy days and the Great Depression were really like.

HARD SCRABBLE EXISTENCE: We didn’t care a wink that Alec Baldwin was booted from his flight for playing ‘Words with Friends.’ We wondered what Words with Friends was. Think triple value word score and the obscenities will fly (while you won’t) mainlining the latest addiction to hit the i-web like a strung out junkie. And you thought terrorist threats were bad.

VINTAGE KYM: Granted, we didn’t know much about the Emerald Cup until Ms. Kym’s 2010 column appeared offering us an excellent education for the novice voyeur of what really goes on out there. Fortunately, it’s safe looking from a distance thanks to Kym’s reporting and camera magic, but Heavens to Betsy, what would her grandmother, Aunt Bea, and Sheriff Andy think?  Keep an eye on Opie.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: If you ever wondered which peeps were admitted or released from the Humboldt County pokey– or have been frustratingly exhausted tied up in the Rube Goldberg telephone tree searching for inmates and dearest loved ones– try peeping here for the semi-secret hush-hush list. Shhh. Keep it on the down-low.

BLOGS WE WATCH: John Hardin’s humorous, inappropriate, and sometimes antisocial SoHum blog is a one-of-a-kind feast or famine breadline banquet telling it like it is—or at least how it is through Mr. Hardin’s uniquely original point of view with some off-the-wall poetic licensing and colorful pics tossed in for good measure. For example, how it all went from this to that and how it all came about like the hokey pokey with your right foot out. You get the idea. Caution: this isn’t for everybody, especially those without a bawdy, bawdry, and tacky sense of humor. You know who you are. We liked it.

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING: Three remarkable videos on tolerance, social justice, and sexual identity issues were brought to our attention by Eric Kirk and Mitch on the local Sohum Parlance II site. You may or may not subscribe to the points of view, but the views were forthrightly honest, enlightening, and thought provoking. Thank you, Eric and Mitch. It was quite an extended education. There are no easy answers.

Bobby G, Space Monkey

HUMBOLDT ENTERTAINMENT, EVENTS, AND HAPPENINGS:

With only 9 days or less left before Christmas, you have plenty to do. Get cracking.

It’s also that time of the season to roll out the Bobby G, Space Monkey: A Christmas Story again. You know we had to do it, courtesy of Carol Escobar, Bobby G, Access Humboldt, and the Space Monkey crew. It’s a merry tradition in a holly jolly gorilla sort of way.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Friday, December 16

Saturday, December 17

Sunday, December 18

A QUOTE OR TWO FROM HUMBOLDT’S BYGONE ERA:

On Jan. 5, 1854, after a two-day voyage north from San Francisco, a lonely Captain Ulysses S. Grant had arrived at Fort Humboldt. He wrote:

My Dear Wife, I have arrived in safety. I cannot say much in favor of the place. It is about what I expected before my arrival. You know what my opinions of it were. I do nothing here but sit in my room and read and occasionally take a short ride… I have not been a quarter of a mile from my room for about one week. I am enjoying good health but growing more lazy every day for want of something to do.

Later, General Grant would write: “I left the Pacific Coast very much attached to it and with the full expectation of making it my future home. But the war blasted my last hope.”

After four years of war and eight as president of the United States, Grant never saw Humboldt again.

3 decades following Grant’s departure would give us this description gracing the 1890 History and Business Directory of Humboldt County:

…Humboldt, the center of trade for Northwestern California… is but sparsely settled, still the time is not far distant when Humboldt will have as many inhabitants and with its great natural resources will possess a wealth greater than anv three States on the Northeastern Atlantic seaboard. Eureka, with a harbor second only to that of San Francisco, on a coast line of 1,300 miles, and several prospective railroads heading in this direction, and being the center of trade and the natural entrepot of a country plethoric with the gifts of a generous nature, presents advantages that have no superior. Give this city ten years and the present will form but a shadow of the metropolis that will then exist. We look in vain for a city so happily situated to command the attention of the capitalist, the enterprising and the energetic.

Eureka is beautifully located on a slope, surrounded by hills, which are covered with giant redwoods. The blocks are square and contain about an acre each. The streets are alphabetically and numerically named. There are but few cities in the State where so many neat and tasty cottages and elegant mansion are encountered, and the citizens take especial pride in possessing well arranged gardens, filled with ornamental shrubs and plants. Every sign of prosperity presents itself, and this augurs well for the future growth of the city.

Mary Mallatt last seen at 1 p.m. today in Old Town

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

UPDATE: Mary Mallatt was found and is now back home and reunited with her family.

Her son, Frank Mallatt, released the following statement: “Mom & I would like to also give thanks to all the helping angels, John Shelter, NCRCs volunteerism and a big thank you to Scrapper’s Edge for printing flyer’s and offering to distribute them as well.”

“But truth be told all of this was done with a wink of an eye from Saint Nick a.k.a. Saint BerryPicker a.k.a. one of the coolest people I am very grateful to know! Plus special thanks to Officer Goodale for his extra efforts.”

A disabled resident of Old Town Eureka has been reported missing and local law enforcement is seeking the public’s help in finding her.

Mary Mallatt, 72, was last seen at approximately 1 p.m. today in the 900 block of Third Street near the intersection with J Street.

She’s described as five foot tall, 120 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes, wearing black pants and a black shirt.

Mallatt is in good shape and likes to walk, thus it’s believed she may have wandered off from her home — due to a traumatic brain injury, she is considered to have a 90-second memory.

The Eureka Police Department is asking for any report on the whereabouts of Mallatt to be called in at (707) 441-4044.

Gottschalks is being remodeled for new 73,000 square foot store

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel 

Walmart is coming to Eureka.

After months of speculation over the ‘silent treatment’ from Eureka City Hall concerning the unnamed “tenant” remodeling the ex-Gottschalks store at Bayshore Mall, Walmart’s public relations department swung into action to admit to what they’ve been doing there for the last few months.

“Walmart stores offer a quick and convenient shopping experience for customers who need household basics, prescriptions and general merchandise all at our everyday low prices,” Debbie Rood, Walmart’s northern California region general manager said in a press statement. “We are excited to bring this store closer to our customers and to join the Eureka business community as well as supporting local non-profits through our ongoing charitable giving.”

Walmart boasts that the store will provide approximately 200 jobs and the associated tax revenue for the local economy — unstated by their corporate PR department, naturally, is how many jobs in locally-owned small businesses will be lost as a result. A study by the Labor Center at the University of California, Berkeley found that Walmart’s entry into a metropolitan area eliminates similar jobs that pay about 18% more than Walmart. In those areas, the total average earnings of retail workers fell by 0.5 to 0.8%.

Corporate plans for the building at the northwest corner of Broadway and Truesdale Street include a pharmacy and supermarket, along with the typical merchandise of electronics, sporting goods, toys and apparel, most of which is shipped in from overseas manufacturers in countries such as China. Walmart spokepersons estimate their construction activities, which began with demolition and site preparation, will continue for approximately 12 to 15 months.

Although not typically associated with cutting-edge environmental activism, Walmart officials bragged about their use of energy-efficient technology to reduce water and electricity usage and minimize waste. These features include LED lighting, a computerized energy management system for their heating, ventilating and air conditioning units, and the use of recycled materials from the demolition of the former Gottschalks store.

A point of contention already brought up in Walmart’s opening propaganda salvo is the average wage they will be paying their workers. In this initial release, Walmart senior manager of public affairs and government relations Deborah Herron claims that its regular, full-time hourly ‘associates’ in California stores are paid $12.69 per hour. Yet according to IBIS World, an independent market research group, Walmart’s average sales associate makes only $8.81 per hour, scarcely above the state minimum wage.

The reaction of local government officials is unclear; the current majority on the Eureka City Council has pushed for increasing local employment by expanding retail services — although they had the Balloon Tract in mind given local ex-billionaire Rob Arkley’s plans for a Marina Center development to include a ‘big box’ retailer such as Home Depot. Eureka voters overwhelmingly rejected in 1999 a plan pushed by Walmart to re-zone the Balloon Tract in their favor.

Beyond the halls of government, the local ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement has already targeted the potential Walmart development as a battle they’re itching to fight. A march on ‘Black Friday’ from the  county courthouse to Bayshore Mall apparently fizzled, while others have called for the renewal of a proposed ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Eureka to $10 an hour or higher to deter big box development at sub-living wage levels.

Ian Michael Treadwell was driving jeep stolen from Humboldt State area

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A routine traffic stop in Eureka developed into a high speed chase involving four local and state law enforcement agencies this afternoon which wound up on Table Bluff Beach.

Ian Michael Treadwell, 28, was observed at about 2:57 p.m. committing a traffic infraction, according to a press statement by Eureka Police Department sergeant Steve Watson. The observer, a member of the EPD Problem Oriented Policing unit who was driving an unmarked vehicle, attempted to stop the green Jeep Wrangler at the intersection of Allard Avenue and Little Fairfield Street.

Instead of stopping, Treadwell allegedly sped away on Little Fairfield Steet at a high rate of speed, with pursuit ensuing. The vehicle popped on EPDs system as recently stolen from the area of Humboldt State University in Arcata.

The assailant, who was wanted on felony warrants of violating probation and parole conditions, attempted to evade pursuing EPD units by driving on surface streets south to Herrick Avenue, west to Highway 101, and then southbound to the Hookton Road exit near Loleta. At this point, both Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies and California Highway Patrol units were called in to support the chase, which reached speeds of approximately 80 miles per hour.

Ian Treadwell upon his arrest by EPD and supporting law enforcement agencies.

According to the EPD release, Treadwell continued on Hookton Road to Table Bluff Beach, at times racing at unsafe speeds on the wrong side of the road. Upon reaching the Table Bluff Beach parking lot, Tredwell drove off-road in his four-by-four vehicle headed south on the beach — where law enforcement was initially unable to follow until a state Fish and Game warden in a four-by-four pickup truck arrived to continue pursuit.

CHP joined F&G on the offroad chase, while EPD, HCSO and other CHP personnel set up a large perimeter around the beach. The warden and CHP trooper eventually located the stolen jeep, now abandoned at the water’s edge, and observed Treadwell swimming across a slough and running into a marshland area. The two officers continued to pursue the suspect on foot across numerous water obstacles, eventually finding him at about 3:30 p.m. hiding behind a log.

Treadwell was arrested at the scene, with the keys to the stolen Jeep on his person. All three men were airlifted out of the slough area by a helicopter called in by the CHP from Redding, and Treadwell was subsequently taken to Humboldt County jail and booked on possession of stolen property, felony reckless evading and resisting arrest charges. The Jeep was driven back to the Table Bluff Beach parking lot and released to a towing company at the request of the owner.

William Dee Love arrested on meth possession, illegal camping charges

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Acting on complaints from the business community and residents, Eureka Police Department’s Problem Oriented Policing Unit (POP) investigators swept out camps of homeless people in the greenbelt along the south end of Broadway on Dec. 7.
Officers spoke to 28 people in several illegal camps, busting or ticketing four of them. The rest were given warnings and ordered to leave. Large amounts of scattered and piled trash were found and a clean-up crew will come through the area in the near future.

William Dee Love, 36, was taken into custody in the greenbelt area west of the 4300 block of Broadway and jailed for possession of a half gram of methamphetamine and illegal camping. Three other people were given tickets for illegal camping and trash dumping; one was also cited for not having their dog registered.

During the week before the sweep, officers posted notices warning campers to leave. EPD’s homeless liaison, Pamlyn Millsap, came along with officers during the sweep to give campers information about local resources and services available to them.

The sweep included the area behind K-Mart and the marshland west of Broadway from Lithia Dodge to the Bayshore Mall, where illegal campers were reportedly dumping trash, trespassing, breaking and entering into buildings, committing vandalism such as cutting holes in fences as well as stealing from vehicles, aggressively panhandling, fighting and abusing drugs and alcohol.

Planning Commission also to tackle setbacks for historic structures

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Planning Commissioners are set to take up tonight a series of zoning amendments which might help relieve the demand for affordable housing in Eureka.

The city’s newly seated Community Development Director, Robert Wall, is recommending the elimination of the requirement that new secondary dwelling units be owner-occupied. This would allow ‘mother-in-law’ sorts of units to be constructed and rented out by local homeowners with a simple over-the-counter permit through City Hall, instead of going through a discretionary review process at the Planning Commission.

The secondary dwelling units would still be limited to 640 square feet of interior space, and would also be subject to architectural review by the Design Review Committee. They would also be allowed, however, in a wider swath of the city, including hospital medical, office residential and commercial zones.

Another set of amendments would modify the non-conforming structures section of the Eureka Municipal Code to allow more alterations and additions to historic structures.

The Planning Commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers of Eureka City Hall.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

SPECIAL REPORT: MOVE OVER REDWOOD CURTAIN, WALMART IS COMING TO EUREKA

Always Low Prices—Always. Save Money, Live Better?

LOVE IT or loathe it, the facts speak for themselves: Walmart is the largest retailer on the planet. It sets the standard for being the largest public corporation ranked by revenue. With over 2 million employees, the company is the biggest private employer in the world and the largest employer in the United States. Having 8,500 stores in 15 countries operating under 55 different names, Walmart reported a net income of $15.4 billion on $422 billion of revenue with a 24.7% gross profit margin for 2011.

WALMART figures are between staggering and mind boggling. If it were a country, Walmart would be the 23rd largest economy in the world. If its employees were a military force, they would be the largest standing army on the face of the earth. This year everyone on the planet will make an average of 1.1 purchases there; one-third of the US population makes a trip to the Walton family business weekly. If all the Walmart stores were placed together they would cover 32 square miles or 15,300 football fields; 135 Pentagons or 158 Vatican Cities; and the parking lots alone would fill the entire city of Tampa, Florida. For every Walmart Supercenter opening, the obesity rate increases 2.4% per 100,000 residents. Between 2001 and 2006, China’s exports to Walmart accounted for 11% of the growth of the total trade deficit between our nations. We needn’t tell you what’s the most popular search location punched into GPS devices—you already guessed that– but we’ll mention the item they sell surprisingly more of than anything else: bananas.

FOR THOSE who remember, it’s been 12 years since Walmart Inc. attempted a bid to build another one of its empire satellites on a choice piece of Eureka’s Waterfront property. After a long and dirty battle Walmart’s plans were shot down by 60% of the voters in a contentious ballot measure. It was a bruising rejection for the gargantuan retailing behemoth used to getting its way. The Walmart debacle launched the political career of former state Assembly member Patty Berg and many considered the defeat of the Redwood Curtain Walmart as the first big electoral victory for the Humboldt County left. Walmart and its proponents certainly didn’t want to repeat this failed strategy again. Looking at the map of Walmart locations there are a few lonely places that the retailer hasn’t reached yet. The Nevada desert, Death Valley, Modoc and Humboldt County.

UNABLE or unwilling to confirm or deny its coming existence like a secretly held Black Ops mission, Eureka officials and City Manager David Tyson have been mum on the issue refusing to discuss or disclose recent Walmart development plans to its citizens. However, the writing is on the wall: it walks, looks, and quacks like a duck– and the fix is in. Walmart has secretly muscled its way back into Eureka through the back door and without voter approval this time around. A lease has likely been acquired and the global giant will be moving into the Bayshore Mall filling the old Gottschalks space and presumably sliding on over into the former Borders location across the way for some needed extra space as needed. No one’s talking about it, at least officially on the record. For some reason your elected representatives don’t want you to know it’s here or what lies in store. It’s simply none of your business. You need only to shop and buy the product byline: Always Low Prices—Always… Save Money, Live Better.  Hook, line, and sinker.

CONSIDER this article describing the process Oregon and other Northwest communities experienced:

Though the developer would not say which retailer would be moving in, it was clear the store would be huge… On numerous occasions over the last decade, some allege Walmart has used deceitful tactics to shoehorn its way into local communities and avoid controversy.

These critics say the superstore works with city officials and local developers to circumvent municipal zoning laws, waiting until the last possible moment to declare a store’s identity, and in some cases, coercing town officials into signing agreements that swear themselves to secrecy. While Walmart denies the allegations summarily, development plans involving a lack of full disclosure raise several questions about sustainable development in some of the communities that need it most.

AL NORMAN, founder of the Greenfield, Mass.-based nonprofit Sprawl-Busters, summed it up this way:  “The process by which Walmart developers weasel their way into communities is collusion that ignores the interests of those who deserve the most representation, and it’s happening right in all of our backyards.”

WHY does Walmart develop stores without first disclosing its plans to the community? Very simply because it works as a proven strategy that’s been particularly effective for the Pacific Northwest:

Generally… zoning laws and procedures force developers to declare specifics of their plans from the beginning. Permit applications are set up to ensure a community has a sense of what’s going where, and whether a retail project will yield a small store or a giant mall.

Still, if a developer owns a plot of land and sells retail space as part of a larger development effort, the developer is not obligated to unveil its plans or list individual purchasers until the developer completes the deal and investigates the environmental impacts those tenants might cause.

In 1996, community activists in Gig Harbor, Wash., successfully defeated local developers from building a Wal-Mart due to a zoning issue. Since then, developers in Sequim, Wash., and Oregon City, Ore., kept Walmart plans secret for months, effectively stalling community opposition until late in the process. Both communities now host Walmart superstores that serve thousands every day.

WALMART officials, however, disagree on the nature of its secrecy, believing privacy is paramount to the company keeping a competitive edge in the marketplace.  And they don’t want to disappoint you:

Amy Hill, Walmart’s Northwest community affairs manager, said the company is not in the business of deceiving communities.  She said Walmart opts for secrecy to maintain an advantage over competitors like Target and Lowe’s.  According to Hill, Walmart often pursues permits anonymously because it doesn’t want to announce intentions until the company is certain it will be coming to an area — so as not to dash anyone’s hopes.

“There’s no reason for us to announce a project until we’re fully committed to it,” she said. “Simply getting ourselves to the point where we’re ready to announce a new store is a long and complicated process.”

As Hill explained it, the process begins with evaluation. Walmart has a “litany” of brokers across the country that work on the company’s behalf to evaluate potential sites, she said. Once the brokers have identified sites, Walmart market research executives research factors such as potential customer base, proximity to other superstores, and traffic impacts. Next, Walmart executives visit the area to inspect it for themselves. After the executives give final approval, the company announces a formal intention to move in.

“We’re not in the process of developing our stores hastily or without thought,” she said. “With that said, our goals are to grow our business and be where we’re not.“

“We don’t know who, officially, the occupant of the building would be. We don’t have any plans that have a name on it. We’ve not been told. The only thing left, I think, is design review for the sign,” Eureka City Manager David Tyson said in August.  Not much has been confirmed about Walmart’s existence since then. The design plans simply read ‘Tenant.’

You would think the cat would be out of the bag by now from knowledgeable leaders explaining what’s coming to town… besides Santa Claus, that is.

The North Coast Journal reported the Bayshore Mall’s $4.6-million-dollar retail store construction project is going through a routine plan check in the Building Department after having been approved by the city’s Fire, Engineering and Community Development departments. The plans? Reportedly a huge “73,000-square-foot apparel/grocery/pharmacy big box” that’s been “sailing through the permitting process at Eureka City Hall” encompassing 59,000 square feet of shelves for apparel and food items, an 8,000-square-foot stockroom, 800 square feet of pharmacy, a plan for freezer and cooling units in the grocery section, and racks of dog food shelving for starters.

SOME SOURCES indicate plans lean towards a ‘Walmart Express,’ a smaller discount store with a range of services from retail items, simple grocery shopping, check cashing, optical, pharmacy, movie rentals, or a host of other possible corporate offerings stretching like large tentacles depending on demand and the potential profit within its grasp. The concept is focused on small towns that are not able to support a larger store and locations where physical space is at a premium. Wal-Mart plans to build 15 to 20 Walmart Express stores by the end of its fiscal year in January 2012.

“The Walmart Express model is about having access to a breadth of assortment,” explains Walmart’s Anthony Hucker, vice president of strategy and business development. An introduction of sorts, the Express concept is not unlike the signature greeters at every store door enticing customers to come in out of the cold and experience the good vibes, warm feelings, charm and cheer that only shopping at a newly opened neighborhood Walmart can bring.

ROB ARKLEY spoke to KINS radio back in July and was one of the first and few people to confirm the secret tenant was indeed going to be… Walmart.  Employees of the Eureka-based Carrington Company that own the old Gottschalks property are under a strict confidentiality agreement. None will disclose the new tenant’s name. Pattison Christensen, Carrington’s asset manager, confirmed the space is being demolished down to the concrete foundation and rebuilt to install new plumbing and electrical systems. Some sources report the extensive renovations will be completed by 2013.

VALUING the property at $8 million, Carrington bought the building and the seven acres it sits on from the court during Gottschalks’ bankruptcy several years ago.

“We bought it on speculation. We thought it was financially advantageous,” Francis Carrington said. “We didn’t have a specific tenant in mind. We had other tenants in mind but none that gave us the sort of return … as this particular client.”

“We’ve already got Target and Costco,” Pattison Christensen said. “As a fourth generation Humboldt County resident, I wouldn’t bring in any tenant I thought would terrify the marketplace and neither would Carrington. The Mall came in 20 years ago and it did decimate the downtown for a while. But look at it now, it’s vibrant. … What sort of development should we want for Humboldt County? Infill for retail and housing,” Christensen said, adding, “the new retailer will create new jobs and increase the tax base because there is plenty of evidence residents are shopping out-of-county at this particular retailer now.”

OPINIONS of the pending Walmart vary widely across the board like slogans. Some feel it’s a boon for discount shoppers stretching their hard earned dollars while others feel it’s a bust for businesses, labor and wages, and Humboldt’s economy. It’s free market trickle down capitalism at its finest while critics maintain it destroys all competitors and everything standing in its path, extolling the virtues of Main Street while simultaneously steamrolling over it, homogenizing and pasteurizing the country from shore to shore like a cheap plastic container of milk.

THE QUESTION is, why all the secrecy by Eureka’s elected representatives, Walmart Inc., and the Carrington company?  Didn’t the 1999 voter referendum make it clear that Walmart wasn’t welcome in Eureka or  have we changed our minds? Shouldn’t there be some community dialogue?  Walmart’s coming. In fact, it’s already here.

YOU’LL hear more about Walmart, after it’s all said and done during the Grand Opening rollout– in a carefully publicized and calculated promotional media blitz to be released at a later date.

LAST SNIPPETS, RUMORS, AND HEARSAY MURMERS:

OCCUPY OPTICS: Local eyewitness reports and two refreshingly honest reads we encountered this week came from Two Rivers Tribune’s Malcolm Terence and Civilized Disobedience’s Mikal Jakubal. Former resident and reporter John C. Osborn has also been writing on Occupy happenings in the Bay Area for his new blog The Classist, recently describing the dismantling of the San Francisco encampment and 60 arrests at 1:30 in the morning on Pearl Harbor Day. The cause slogs on through the sleet and snow, the rain and early morning raids, the scalawags and rapscallions, and the 1% sporting rose-colored Louis Vuitton glasses.

CALIFORNIA DOESN’T SEEM BROKE: Caltrans’ request for financial support from the Humboldt County Association of Governments for a $30 million road improvement project was approved on Thursday with an 8-2 vote during the Association’s meeting. Humboldt County agreed to pay for $16 million of the project Caltrans proposed in 2007 to widen the shoulder, and add an interchange and half signal to Airport Road and Indianola Road off of the highway 101 safety corridor between Eureka and Arcata. If given the Holiday green light by the Coastal Commission, Caltrans will begin making the necessary changes after more money is secretly printed off in the Capitol basement bubbling forth like Pennies from Heaven despite the State’s fiscally-challenged Stormy Weather conditions.

POOR STUDENTS AND VANITY CENTERS: While HSU students are experiencing record tuition increases, administrators are asking for $1.3 million from the University Center to expand the Student Recreation Center. Student fee money is being used to pay for the expansion of the West Gym, a state funded building, as students cough up more money simply to stay in school. Administrators advise students to eat more beans and rice and dress warmly for the interim.

THE HUMBOLDT ECONOMIC INDEX REPORT is in and it’s not painting a rosy picture: “Leading indicators universally soured in November. Unemployment claims were up, and help wanted advertising down, indicating potential softening of the local labor market. The number of Building Permits issued also fell. The number of homes sold within the county also contracted as per seasonal expectations. The decline was small, however, and may not be significant. Employment continued to rise, again largely thanks to the increased hiring of state and local governments. Unemployment also increased, though. The sector is viewed as contracting from last month. Hospitality, retail sales, and lumber manufacturing all declined…” You get the idea. Curiously enough marijuana production and PG&E electrical rates weren’t factored in as current economic drivers of the Humboldt economy so the results could be a bit skewed.

APPEARING BORED, DISINTERESTED, AND ILL-ATTENTIVE, the Times-Standard’s mighty Thadeus Greenson is anything but. News seems to settle subconsciously onto his brain while complex paragraphs emanate ethereally from his fast and furious keyboard fingers. How he does this without paying attention is anyone’s guess. Given his always consistent tear of current events and the reporting of complex issues in fairly accurate deadline fashion, Thadeus makes it all look easy. His articles this week include among others (*Spoiler alert!* Clear your T-S paywall cookie here for the links): Sunday’s $400 Million Humboldt Marijuana Economy, Tuesday’s Sage Family’s Proposition 215 Lawsuit Against the City of Arcata, and Chief Probation Officer Bill Damiano Turning the Titanic followed by the Eureka City Council report on Wednesday, and Thursday’s article detailing Hydesville’s marijuana kingpin Stanislaw Kopiej’s controversial probation and $175k forfeiture plea deal. Greenson’s a lean mean media muscle machine, a literary mystery wrapped up in a warm burrito of words.

LAST MAN STANDING: We say goodbye to the last edition of the Humboldt Beacon and the kind words of departing editor Franklin Stover before the whole kit ‘n caboodle of the Eel River Valley newspaper slips into the forgotten memory hole. Goodbye Mr. Stover. We wish you a fond farewell having steered the Humboldt Beacon to its last and final run after 110 years of faithful reporting.

PRECIOUSLY GOOD NEWS: Remember the eight year-old Willow Creek girl named Precious Reynolds who defied the odds after contracting rabies? Given a three percent chance at life by doctors in May, Precious is the eighth person in the world and the third in the U.S. to have survived the virus without a vaccine. She’s what doctors call a medical phenomenon. Two Rivers Tribune editor Allie Hostler tells us more about Precious’ fairy tale happy ending to recovery.

WARM, DRY, AND STILL THIRSTY: Kevin Hoover of the Arcata Eye has capably kept us up to date about Arcata’s famous icon and beloved former resident Pete, also known as Manila Pete, Ragman Pete, or simply Pete from Nayarit here in the Eye archives or more recently in this week’s edition.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: but only if you keep an eye on them and don’t believe everything you read. Just when you thought you heard it all, here’s one you probably haven’t heard yet. Urban myth or not? Credible sources vary on its veracity. It’s been a long time since smoking banana peels were in vogue, but bored and crafty kids do come up with the dankest ideas. We relegate this to the dubious pile of tall tales for obvious reasons.

PLEASE DON’T ANTAGONIZE or try to feed and pet the mountain lion that was spotted Tuesday in Arcata’s Redwood Park according to reports received by the Arcata Police Department. The cat was seen near Big Rock Trail, trail four, and Big Rock Cutoff, trail 16. It was not reported to be acting aggressive. Redwood Park is a heavily wooded area and a natural habitat for mountain lions and tasty humans and dreadlocked Trustafarians. Walk softly and carry a big stick until the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Then run like hell.

HUMBOLDT EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS:

CLEAR OUT YOUR CLOSET AND MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW YEAR: KSLG radio is hosting a Warm and Fuzzy Clothing Drive at the Eureka Co-op, 4th and B Streets, on Friday from 6 am to 8 pm. All the clothing collected will be given to Betty Chinn’s group known as “Betty’s Blue Angels.” If this is anything remotely similar to last year, mountains of clothing will magically appear before your eyes out of thin air and presenting a spectacular sight to behold– next to the following day’s lunar eclipse and nativity scenes, of course.

SATURDAY’S EARLY MORNING HOURS will unleash a spectacular total eclipse of the moon starting around 5-6 am. 5 minutes later at 6:05 am, the lunar orb is expected to turn a beautiful-to-bloody sunrise red magnifying greatly in size. Sources indicate it’s well worth waking up the kids and seeing an extraordinary sight not reoccurring for another 3 years. A rare way to start your day. You only have so many, you know.

SNOW AND BLOW: Eureka’s Pacific Outfitters is hosting lots of snow this Saturday from noon to 4 pm at the intersection of 5th and R streets. 40,000 pounds of shaved ice delivered from Pacific Coast Seafood will grace a 12-foot drop rail for snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts. There will be local vendors, contests, prizes, professional boarders and their sponsors. Free and open to the public from noon to 2 pm as long as you bring your own helmet, gear and Red Bulls to ride the rail, getting your own inner Shaun White halfpipe going on.

NOT EVERYONE’S CUP OF POT TEA: Ms. Kemp thoughtfully reminds us of the 8th annual Emerald Cup this Saturday at 2 pm in Laytonville. Additional details and an enormous spliff can be bogarted here. Don’t forget your 50 bucks… or was it $40?

Eureka Trucker's Parade in 2006.

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR TO STAY OFF THE ROADS in Eureka. No, not New Year’s Eve. The annual run and random honking of the Trucker’s Parade Saturday night from 6 -8:30 pm. Hot cocoa and Christmas caroling will be served at either the Eureka Muni or Cooper Gulch depending if it rains or not.

STEELHEAD AND CRAB COGNOSCENTI: Kenny Priest keeps the fish updated as to where the North Coast humans are in this week’s fishing report and his past archives. Sorry folks, no local commercial crab will be available before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for January 16 or later depending if the crusty little shellbacks are fat enough to pluck from the sea. Sport crabbers, however, are free to trap and grab.

CRAFTS, GIFTS, MUSIC, CHRISTMAS CONCERTS, AND NATIVITIES abound this weekend. See the weekend calendar below for times and dates.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Friday, December 9

Saturday, December 10

Sunday, December 11

FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“There is no such thing, at this date of the world’s history, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There isn’t one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job.

If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalist is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell the country for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press. We are the tools and vassals of the rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.”

~ John Swinton, former Chief of Staff at the New York Times. Greatly admired by other newsmen Swinton made this candid confession when asked to give a toast before the prestigious New York Press Club in 1880.

13 out of 15 sections concerning election financial disclosures to be eliminated

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

When it comes to campaign finance law, less is more, according to the new class of politicians running Eureka.

In advance of the 2012 elections where Councilmembers Linda Atkins and Melinda Ciarabellini are expected to defend their second and fourth ward seats, the City Council voted unanimously this evening to introduce an amendment to its political campaign regulations which tear out 13 of the 15 sections adopted by the last set of Councilmembers in 2010.

If adopted, the only provisions left standing will be the $500 contribution limits per donor to support or oppose any candidate running for city office, as well as a $500 cap per cycle on donations to an independent expenditure committee that spends more than $500 on a municipal election. Removed will be all requirements for campaign finance disclosures to be made through the City Clerk’s office, and all criminal penalties for violating the contribution limits are also to be repealed.

The only member of the public to address Councilmembers on the issue mocked the very existence of the ordinance, comparing it to the ill-fated Measure T, an unconstitutional ban on countywide campaign contributions peddled by Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County and subsequently struck down in federal court.

“If you limit the ability of an assembly to raise and spend money, you limit their ability to engage in press activity,” Humboldt County Republican Central Committee member Parke Bostrom said. “I do not want any more of my tax dollars wasted in failed attempts to defend blatantly unconstitutional ordinances.”

Atkins agreed, and said she’d like to see the entire ordinance done away with given the apparent loopholes.

“I do have a problem with the contribution limits because they don’t work, we have contributions from five different members of the same family with one person who obviously distributes the money,” she said. “I’m very glad that we got rid of some of the other language that just made a lot more paperwork for campaigns.”

Neither the Mayor nor any other Councilmember made a single comment on the issue. The final adoption of the amendment will take place at the next City Council meeting, scheduled for Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.

Eureka Zoo — brought to you by Goldman Sachs?

Most of the public attention Tuesday night was paid to the subject of admission fees to the Sequoia Park Zoo, which is entirely owned by the City of Eureka, yet under the management of a Foundation closely tied to the political clique around Rob and Cherie Arkley, owners of Security National.

While admissions to the zoo increased from 54,000 in 2009 to 64,837 last year, preliminary figures indicate a slight decrease in the numbers for 2011, leaving some members of the public asking why the zoo was the only publicly-funded one in California without regularly-scheduled free admission days.

Frequent public speaker Richard Tollison took the dialogue in a curious direction, however, when he suggested the implementation of a corporate sponsorship program to allow the zoo to hold admission-free events.

“I’m sure Church’s Chicken would partner with them,” he said.

Councilmembers were quite receptive to the idea, although Ciarabellini said she’d want to see those sponsorships secured before holding a free day. Atkins backed the plan too, noting that when the Council originally adopted admittance fees, a free day was part of the package.

“The people of Eureka are the sponsors of the zoo,” she said. “The zoo foundation does good work on exhibits but it’s our zoo.”

Atkins went further than the rest in suggesting the direct corporate sponsorship of animals, along with a free day every month. Public Works Director Bruce Young said a free day would cost between $500 and $1,000 in lost revenues.

With other Councilmembers suggesting a once-a-quarter admission-free day system, City Manager Dave Tyson said he’d work with staff and the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation on a sustainable plan to bring back to Council next year.

“I’d just like to remind everybody that it wasn’t too long ago that we were talking about closing down the zoo,” Mayor Frank Jager noted.

In addition

Councilmembers did split on adopting amendments to its General Plan allowing for special needs housing such as transitional housing and emergency shelters, despite the fact that these changes were mandated by Senate Bill 2, adopted by the California Legislature and signed by the Governor in 2007.

The new law will allow emergency shelters to be located in ‘service commercial’ zones without public hearings or discretionary review by the Planning Commission or the City Council. Transitional and supportive housing will likewise not be subject to special review so long as fire and safety codes are followed, and the numerical limits on how many residents can live in these facilities are to be repealed.

Atkins cast the lone dissenting vote, voicing concerns echoed by several public speakers that drug addicted persons were being warehoused in their Westside Eureka neighborhoods. Transitional and supportive housing can be located without public review in multifamily zones, while the predominantly single-family zones on the eastern end of Eureka don’t allow for ministerial approvals of new board and care homes.

The Council also adopted a sewer use ordinance amendment to bring the city into compliance with federal pre-treatment regulations. Additional attention by local regulators will be paid to the interception of fats and grease entering the sewer system, with installation and maintenance of such systems at commercial facilities like restaurants to be uniform across the city.

In his close-of-meeting report, Tyson noted the county’s progress on establishing a community forest in unincorporated timber lands just east of Eureka’s borders, and said he would be working closely with Green Diamond and county leaders to bring a full report back to the City Council in an upcoming meeting.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

Occupy Eureka Resists Setbacks, Weather, and Authority

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND OCCUPY REORGANIZATION: HSU’s Kate Buchanan Room hosted over 100 people representing Humboldt’s various Occupy groups last Monday for what was billed as a ‘Countywide General Assembly’ to explore the local movement’s options going forward. Among the list of topics: should the three groups, Occupy Humboldt, Occupy Eureka, and Occupy Arcata consolidate their efforts together? Under moderator Travis Turner, agreement and consensus reached an impasse after different ideas were tabled and discussed. Another meeting is scheduled for next week.

THE GOOD PRESS: Occupy Eureka held a rally at the Courthouse the Saturday after Thanksgiving with 200 individuals braving the chilly weather hearing speakers, music, and enjoying the food.

THE BAD PRESS: According to the press release from the Eureka Police Department:

ON NOV. 21, 2011 at about 11:00 pm, officers of the Eureka Police Department responded to a reported hazardous condition at the “Occupy Eureka” encampment near the steps of the Humboldt County Courthouse. While officers were investigating the incident, an aggressive intoxicated subject approached and confronted the officers. The subject, who was identified as Roger Alan Parshall (56 years old of Eureka) was soon taken into custody for suspicion of public intoxication and obstructing an officer. He was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Several subjects were located sleeping in sleeping bags in a section of the illegal structure. These subjects were advised of the violation.

THEN ON Nov. 22, 2011 at about 7:30 am, officers responded to a verbal argument at the “Occupy Eureka” encampment. Upon arrival, officers were told that a member of the “Occupy Eureka” group was involved in a verbal altercation with two subjects awaiting the opening of the Courthouse. During the altercation, the “Occupy Eureka” member, identified as Heather Nicole McBride (19 years old of Eureka) allegedly threatened to assault the subjects. As a result of the investigation, McBride was taken into custody without incident for disturbing the peace.

With two previous early morning raids, nearly 50 arrests, and many problems over the past month, one would hope cooler heads would prevail, tensions might subside, and the provocative nature of the situation resolve itself. It didn’t, it wasn’t, and it hasn’t:

LATER IN the day at about 4 p.m., at the request of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Humboldt County Chief Administrator’s Office, Humboldt County Council, and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, officers of the Eureka Police Department responded to the “Occupy Eureka” encampment to enforce the penal code violations regarding the illegal lodging. Deputies of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department and Officers of the California Highway Patrol assisted in this enforcement action. Upon officer’s arrival, several subjects were detained and identified concerning their illegal activity. The subjects were allowed to gather all personal property, that was not deemed camping equipment, and were escorted off the property temporarily, until the illegal structures could be dismantled. Once all subjects had been escorted away, the structure, constructed of concrete, wooden pallets, pipes, and tarps was dismantled and eventually hauled away. All supplies used solely for the purpose of exercising their right to freedom of speech were left at the scene for the group members to reclaim.

AS OFFICERS were finishing the clean-up of the area, a subject stepped out into oncoming eastbound 5th Street traffic with a large banner. He stopped directly in front of an oncoming vehicle. He was immediately taken into custody without incident for obstructing the street. The subject was identified as Hans Karl Ashbaucher (44 years old of Eureka). He was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. This is Ashbaucher’s third arrest at this location in connection with the “Occupy Eureka” movement. A complaint regarding this incident will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s office.”

ONE GROUP participating in Occupy Eureka noticed on their website: “STOP THE ATTACK ON CIVIL RIGHTS. Since Oct 8th, local police & officials have stolen everything we have, arrested us en masse with no warning or crime, beat us to broken ribs & concussion with hands & baton, arrested us for filming, kept us in jail illegally, deleted our videos, fenced off the courthouse lawn, & lied about it all. Cops now come many times a day & steal our signs, where people have demonstrated for decades. There’s no excuse for trying to wipe out our demo. It’s time to SPEAK OUT!”

ON Wednesday, a couple of Occupy volunteers were busy erecting a 6 X 8 foot makeshift shelter using wood, PVC piping, and tarps near the Courthouse steps in the late afternoon. What was going on and what were they doing? It is, or was, the short-lived Occupy Eureka Information Booth and Social Center– until it was allegedly stolen by EPD and its Occupy members kidnapped. Tom Sebourn explains more via the communiqué he received of the situation and arrests:

“In the latest show of complete lawlessness and blatant disregard for the Constitutional Rights of the Citizens of Humboldt County, the Eureka Police Department has once again raided the Occupy Eureka site and stolen both the Information Booth and the Scott Olsen Social Center. In addition to this robbery, they have also kidnapped 2 of our Comrades – Kimberly (“Verbena”) Starr and Stanton Woods are now being held in the Humboldt County Jail despite the fact that they were doing nothing other than exercising their First Amendment Right to speak and hand out literature in a public place. The EPD is trying to claim that Kim Starr was in violation of a court order when she handed out fliers. At the court proceedings to which the EPD were referring, Judge Cissna EXPLICITLY, on the record, said that she was free to speak and hand out papers on the sidewalk. They claim that she further violated orders by erecting the Scott Olsen Center (which was not blocking the sidewalk or in any other way impeding foot traffic and was only there to protect the information table from the weather and as a gathering place for Occupiers and conversations) even though she never even touched any part of it…”

GOOD LUCK, Travis Turner, Ms. Starr, and Occupy Eureka. We wish you the best. We really do. A recent Field Poll found 46% of California voters identifying with the Occupy movement while 49% do not. 58% agree with the protesters’ underlying reasons. 52% blame Wall Street more than the federal government (24%) for the current economic disparity. It’s doubtful these numbers come close to approximating local sentiment in supporting our local Eureka movement given its recent problems as previously reported and the overall message co-opted into a scattered mix of provincial agendas and demands– such as the removal of a chain link fence surrounding a patch of courthouse sod formerly accommodating the overnight tent city and unfortunately wearing out its welcome.

GRANTED, some of the protesters were treated rudely and roughly, probably unduly so; it appears civil litigation for these cases is on the horizon from the sources we’ve heard from. Nonetheless, bringing a more even disposition and clearly grounded solutions to the table — rather than the angry, threatening display of emotional wrought and malfeasance brought to the chambers of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on November 15 — would be best for all concerned. We believe in social justice, carefully and restoratively sought, with a sagacious prudence and considerate respect for all involved. Wise and cooler heads need to prevail preventing the unraveled ends from falling apart and imploding altogether, driving away those who would be otherwise sympathetic. Representing Humboldt — and the 99%– needs to be presented and presented well, without the confrontation, blame game, and the victim card being played. It needn’t be a fine line to tread; otherwise, it detracts and distracts from OWS’ important message that something has gone seriously wrong regarding the disparate inequality and the state of our nation today.

MORE: Heidi Walters and the North Coast Journal covered more of the Occupy haps here for readers… unless you’d rather go directly to the Occupy Facebook site for their more recent postings. Tom Sebourn’s blog kindly archived the latest ballads arising from the source, while the Humboldt Herald’s readers weigh in with their 220 comments and opinions describing more of the above.

LAST SNIPPETS, RUMORS, AND HEARSAY MURMURS:

KINGPINS AND COLD CASH CAN WORK WONDERS: The sentencing of the Hydesville marijuana kingpin, Stanislaw Kopiej, has been postponed. You’ll remember he was arrested with more than 425 pounds of processed pot, entering into a probation-only plea agreement deal only a mere 10 days later after his arrest with his attorney Patrik Giego and the District Attorney’s Office, after forfeiting $175,000 in cash. Monday’s hearing was continued to December 7 to allow attorneys in the case to review the “forfeiture language” in the agreement concerning his former $1 million dollar operation. Meanwhile, the trimmers working for him languish in jail after being hammered with unprecedented felony charges by the District Attorney’s Office– to the dismay of their defense attorneys.

BUCKLE UP AND LOOK BOTH WAYS: Humboldt sadly lost two citizens on the road recently: talented musician Bucky Osper and young Eureka High Student Mariah Redman. Be careful out there, folks. Or going to the new Harris Street Safeway that’s reportedly experiencing fender benders due to the two simultaneous left turn lights colliding with the blocked traffic entering the parking lot, making it one of the more dangerous intersections in the City, some believe.

WHACKS, STABS AND PRICKS: If it wasn’t enough former Arcata mayor Bob Ornelas got trucked, it was Hanna’s report of being the second Arcata victim getting stuck.

PHYSICIANS AND PEEPS, HEAL THYSELF: The Two Rivers Tribune explained our national health front in a nutshell: School lunches lean towards the unhealthy, we’re living longer, teen birth rates are declining, Oxycontin-like drugs are smuggled in from Canada, newborns having an ‘explosive surge’ being hooked on prescription painkillers, and a rising level of drug use and alcoholism among doctors and health care professionals. Dr. DeCapua’s article noted, “Research suggest that 15 to 24 percent of lawyers suffer from alcoholism during their careers. The British Medical Association estimates that one in 15 healthcare professionals will develop an addiction problem. Doctors are three times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver than the general population.”

AN END RUN, PT II: THE GARBAGE WARS THICKEN. In the last Sentinel Roundup we reported that the Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA) was making an end run of closed door negotiations utilizing Arcata Community Recycling Center (ACRC) employees amidst pending litigation. HWMA Executive Director Jim Test said that HWMA is still discussing leasing the Samoa Processing Plant and in a Nov. 10 closed session meeting met to discuss the possibility of keeping the Samoa plant open in an agreement with ACRC. In the latest twist, however, Fortuna’s Eel River Valley Disposal is looking at contracting for Arcata’s recyclables… and bypassing the Samoa Processing Plant altogether in favor of their new facility opening this month. The City of Arcata is pondering its new position of recycling authority. No doubt the clash of stubborn ill will between Directors Jim Test and ACRC’s Mark Loughmiller will continue in some form or another. Who would’ve thought there was money, plot twists and high drama in garbage?

BUSINESS AS USUAL STATS: The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council approved a $79.5 million budget—about $26,000 per person for 3,040 residents for fiscal year 2011-2012. In comparison, Eureka is looking at approving an approximately $55 million budget for 27, 191 residents, or $2,022 per person according to city sources. Humboldt County’s adopted $263.7 million budget for 134,630 residents comes in at $1,958 per person.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND LOCK THE DOORS WHEN YOU LEAVE: If you’re one of Bank of America’s last customers, take note and heed. No, it’s not the fact that Bank of America recently secretly moved $57-75 trillion dollars (yes, that’s right; trillion with a T) of unknown derivatives to an FDIC-insured umbrella account that some say is preparing itself for bankruptcy, nor that the Federal Reserve Bank gave it and other institutions an equally secret $7.7 trillion dollar rescue and bailout coming to light, or that it’s just been hit with downgrades by the two major rating companies and also under investigation for illegally foreclosing on homes and using deceptive loan practices. If that isn’t enough of a warning in itself, it’s the fact that Bank of America’s stock is tanking big time. Currently around $5.53 a share (down 62% from the beginning of the year), experts believe it can’t go much lower without the institution going belly up. Corporate bonuses for such spectacular failure will be announced later– when the final figures for financial institutions are released– and before the projected layoff of 30,000 BofA employees. Our local branch of Bank of America is perilously close to going the way of the Dodo—or Mervyn’s, Hometown Buffet, Borders, Evergreen, the Eureka Reporter, and the Humboldt Beacon and the Times-Standard’s Monday edition.

POT PROMOTIONALS AND OTHER MERCHANDISE FOR SALE: Despite the economic downturn, there is a bright outdoor light of opportunity shining for some. If you haven’t taken the humorously crass capitalistic tour of Jorge’s Garden ‘O Humboldt Eden yet, you still can at Kym’s place. No doubt personal tours will be in the works shortly. Don’t forget to buy a T-shirt or mug at the gift shop on your way out.

THE PERFECT LOCO TRIFECTA? Lost Coast Communications media mogul Patrick Cleary, Lost Coast Outpost Hank Sims, and the ginger Redheaded Blackbelt Kym Kemp have joined forces. The fate of the Humboldt world hangs in their balance.

FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK LEST WE FORGET: “The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. We have the right to assemble, and we have the right to question our government! Nobody has the right to pepper spray peaceful, albeit obnoxious, protesters… GOT IT?” (~Ernie Branscomb)

HUMBOLDT EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS:

A NICE LINEUP THIS WEEKEND and a little something for everyone, musically speaking, with Hawaii’s ukulele-stretching Jake Shimabukuro on Friday, Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart on Saturday, locals Devin the Dude and Ishi Dube Saturday, 7 man swing and jazz band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy playing Sunday, and Humboldt’s beloved Huckleberry Flint set for Wednesday.

OR get outdoors in the rain or shine with the Arcata Marsh and Lanphere Dune walks and the Audubon King Salmon and Arcata bird outings listed in the Saturday calendar below, or take in the 22nd annual Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park candlelight walk.

HUMBOLDT’S infamous Impropriety Society is having their last-of-the-year-bash. Don’t know who the Imps are? Oh my. How does one explain this? Let’s put it this way: some things are best left unsaid and don’t look here and certainly don’t look here, either. We warned you, even if you are curiously aware.

…AND the Eureka Inn is scheduled to have their traditionally glittering Christmas Tree decorated and lit– delighting all on Saturday, too.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Friday, December 2

Saturday, December 3

Sunday, December 4

Parolee busted, stashes of meth, heroin, oxycodone, pot and shotgun shells discovered

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A Eureka man has been jailed on drug charges by Eureka police officers who found illegal drugs and a large amount of cash in his car on Nov. 25.

Jack Kyle Daniels, 30, of Eureka, Daniels was booked to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of more than one ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The bust began at about 10 p.m. when a Eureka police officer on patrol spotted Daniels and another man talking in a gas station parking lot on the 1300 block of 5th Street. When they saw the officer approaching, both men walked away from the car they were standing alongside.

Recognizing Daniels, a parolee, the officer followed him into the gas station minimart and searched him, finding $1,818, a baggie containing 12.8 grams (about half an ounce) of crystal methamphetamine and 10 illegally possessed oxycodone (Roxicodone) pills.

Officers next searched Daniels’ car, finding about 5.8 grams of heroin, a digital gram scale with suspected drug residue and over an ounce of processed marijuana. They also found written records of drugs sales, prompting them to ask for a detectives from EPD’s Problem Oriented Policing Unit to assist and take over the investigation.

Investigators found room keys to a nearby motel on the 1100 block of 5th Street in Daniels’ pockets and went to his motel room, where they found two small baggies containing more processed marijuana, a glass meth pipe and a bag containing 20-gauge shotgun ammunition.

A 15-year-old female passenger in Daniels’ car was released into the care and custody of her mother at the gas station.

Richard Miller finally settles years-old lawsuit filed by county

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A long-awaited settlement of an illegal dumping case is finally in the payment phase.

After 17 violations of environmental regulations and hazardous materials handling laws were discovered over the span of an eight-year investigation and lawsuit, Richard Miller, the former owner of Redwood Motorsports in Eureka, is due to pay $100,000 to settle the case.

Under the terms of the agreement reached by the office of District Attorney Paul Gallegos, Miller will additionally reimburse more than $28,000 in costs to the county, as well as complete the removal of an illegally abandoned underground storage tank.

The original investigation was initiated in 2003 by the Division of Environmental Health, an arm of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services. DEH director Melissa Martel pursued the investigation, during which her office discovered that Miller had dumped toxic materials in local storm drains. Miller was also charged with failure to provide personnel training, failure to provide required paperwork and illegal transportation of hazardous waste.

An additional investigation in 2005 revealed that Miller’s hazardous waste was being illegally stored in Carlotta in large drums which were deteriorating and leaking waste oil, solvent and gasoline into the soil. Due to these contamination issues, Miller was required in the terms of the settlement to clean up both properties.

“This case illustrates that it really doesn’t pay to disregard the rules,” deputy district attorney Christa McKimmy stated in a release. “We hope that businesses recognize this and act responsibly to protect our environment.”

Since the judgement against him was entered earlier this year, Miller has already paid $28,000 in cost recovery, along with over $13,000 towards the $100,000 penalty.

“Sadly, toxins and pollutants dumped into our sensitive waterways and ecosystems don’t simply disappear,” Gallegos stated in a release. “They linger in our environment and do untold damage for years to come. The sooner we can catch and stop perpetrators like Miller, the more effective we can be in limiting that harm.”

Martel noted that fines such as these are levied against polluters only after other efforts to obtain compliance have been exhausted.

“While local agencies work hard to educate the public about community about hazardous materials laws and regulations, sometimes fines and penalties are warranted,” she said. “We do our best to keep Humboldt healthy.”

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

OCUPPY, OCCUPY, AND EVICTION REPLACES WHO ‘POOPED AND PEED ON THE BANK’: It’s been hard to keep up, friends. As makeshift Hoovervilles across the nation experience evictions and the long boot of the law kicking squatting demonstrators to the curb or into the pokey, the Occupy Eureka protesters have been no exception.

The Eureka Police Department, Humboldt County Sheriffs, Arcata Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol staged an early morning raid with little warning wiping out the Occupy Eureka camp at the Humboldt County Courthouse for a second time Monday. Sources say 31-33 people were arrested by the 36 law enforcement personnel on the scene. Some witnesses claim our finest in uniform used nunchukas and batons on passive resistors with two protesters tackled in the ensuing melee. The Eureka Police Department said protesters were aggressive and at least one Occupier, Mr. Nutz, became violent and assaulting an officer using a ‘chunk of pavement.’ EPD Interim Police Chief Murl Harpham estimated 25 arrests were made in the raid of the camp that commenced at 4 a.m. 13 arrests for obstruction of justice occurred exactly a week previous during a similar raid taking place at 3:40 in the morning. Nearly 50 arrests have been made of the Occupy Eureka encampment over the past two weeks.

Harpham restated his stance that protesting was allowed. “If they want to protest, they can protest on the sidewalk,” Harpham said. Monday’s raid followed a Saturday clash between Occupiers and EPD– where activists say one of their group, Hans Ashbaucher, was arrested and denied medical care after complaining of injured ribs after cops arrested him for shooting video. To note, Hans gets hurt a lot fighting between the cause, the law, and 1st Amendment rights.

Activist Kim ‘Verbena’ Starr was arrested Monday morning, November 7th, for interfering with an officer and resisting arrest. She and the others arrested with her were released several hours later. “They tried to intimidate and deter people from joining the Occupy movement, but it’s not going to work,” Verbena said. She was arrested again on November 11th for allegedly ‘lawfully filming police.’ Readers may remember the verbose Ms. Starr previously denying independent media access to the Occupy Eureka camp, loudly speaking up for homeless housing coalition efforts in Garberville, leading the protest at the Caltrans building over the proposed highway widening of Richardson Grove State Park, and organizing the outreach information surrounding the case of Martin Cotton– where a federal judge found Eureka Police liable for Martin’s beating, death, and lack of responsible medical care, awarding approximately 4.5 million in damages to the Cotton family.

Local attorney Laura Cutler has been trying to arrange mediation talks between local officials and the Occupy Eureka movement. Neither Humboldt County officials nor the City of Eureka has been willing to sit at the table with the protesters, she said. Cutler continues to raise the question of whether Eureka city ordinances, such as the anti-camping ordinance, apply on County-owned property, saying she doesn’t have the answer to the question and that the County has been unwilling to provide any legal authorities clarifying matters.

The Eureka Police Department’s press release describing the raid stated in part:

…On 11/14/11, at about 5:00 AM, over 3 dozen law enforcement officers responded to “Occupy Eureka’s” illegal encampment located outside the Humboldt County Courthouse and Government Center (825 5th Street, Eureka). This was a multi-agency operation coordinated… to safely remove the illegal encampment and arrest all persons found to be in violation of the law there. (Such camping is a violation of the Eureka Municipal Code and the California Penal Code –647(e) PC).

…In the early morning hours of 11/14/11, officers and deputies arrived at the newly re-constructed camp. A total of approximately 13 temporary shelters had been erected with numerous individuals camping/sleeping in them. A total of 31 individuals were arrested without incident and booked into the Humboldt County Jail and two additional subjects were cited and released for unlawful lodging (33 total arrests were made). One of those cited was a juvenile and the other was an adult male who was cited and released due to a pre-existing medical reasons. The majority of these arrests were for unlawful lodging (lodging/camping without permission). However, 3 subjects were arrested for resisting/obstructing officers and a 4th suspect, Erick Nutz (age 23), was taken into custody for assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and wearing a mask for the purpose of evading or escaping identification in the commission of a public offense.

These additional arrests occurred after a group of 3 protestors left the south sidewalk of 5th Street, where they’d been allowed to demonstrate while the camp was being dismantled, and aggressively came toward officers on the perimeter of the crime scene. When officers approached the group and ordered them to get back, they refused to comply and continued to advance. One of the suspects then attempted to interfere with an officer and fled before he could be taken into custody. Officers pursued the suspect and caught him a short distance away. Nutz, who was wearing a mask to conceal his identity, then interfered with the arrest and assaulted one of the officers before running away. Nutz later returned and threw a large chunk of pavement at officers on the perimeter, which struck the ground at their feet and peppered a parked EPD patrol car (the car sustained no significant damage). He then fled again but was apprehended a short time later following a brief foot pursuit…

'Occupy Eureka' demonstrators hung this banner on the new chain link fence.

The former encampment on the Courthouse lawn is now surrounded in temporary chain link fencing presumably to keep protesters out and allowing the damaged grass to grow back in. Protesters and signs have taken to the sidewalk under the watchful eye of Sheriff’s officers stationed nearby.

Sources tell us 18 protesters remained at the jail Tuesday on mostly minor violations. To note, the overcrowded jail had 400 inmates filling the capacity of the 391-bed correctional facility. Our previously mentioned Verbena was reported as refusing legal counsel and wishing to represent herself with bail set at $20,000 or higher. One angry attorney said during Monday’s raid the jail was in a ‘lockdown’ mode for hours with all visitors being denied access including legal counsel seeking to represent newly arrested clients.

One demonstrator was arrested for the felony assault of reporter Betsy Lambert on Thursday, November 10, with bail set at $5,000 following the infamous KIEM-TV filming of the ‘Poop and Pee Report’ and the subsequent minor altercation that allegedly transpired.

The Eureka Police Officers Association directed a letter to the Eureka City Council Tuesday blasting Councilwoman Linda Atkins for ‘leaking’ advance warning of EPD’s crackdown on the protester encampment. “Whether intentional or inadvertent, warning the Occupy Eureka group of an upcoming operation to remove their illegal encampments could have endangered the safety of the public, Eureka Police Department personnel and the protesters. EPOA feels this warning also contributed to the tension and conflicts between the protesters and law enforcement when the operation to remove the illegal encampments finally took place,” the EPOA letter read.

The mighty Thadeus Greenson of the Times-Standard brings us more of the ongoing saga with his outstanding report Thursday while Hank Sims of the Lost Coast Outpost concludes:

“Isn’t there a chance that the EPD is a little too ratcheted up about all this? Advance knowledge that their camp was illegal and was due to be cleared sooner or later… endangered police officers and the public? Isn’t the EPD misreading its foe, here? These aren’t armed terrorists. Contrast these high-tension relations with what’s happening in Arcata. For at least several days and possibly a week or longer, Councilmember Susan Ornelas, for one, has been warning Occupiers at Arcata City Hall that they would have to be busted up sooner or later. What’s more, APD Chief Tom Chapman himself delivered an eviction notice to the Occupy Arcata camp yesterday…Why are Ornelas and Chapman happy to tell Occupiers that they must evacuate or face arrest? Why would the Eureka Police Department fear this?”

No word yet if EPD is enjoying newly liberated overtime pay under Chief Murl Harpham for combating the recent scourge of protesting and illegal camping at the crack of dawn.

Can’t we all just get along?

Teacher, writer, musician, and blog author Josephine Johnson caught brief interviews with Occupiers Chives and Art Brown along with Sheriff Mike Downey and 50 year resident Ralph McCarthy explaining his world history take of the raid… while staying on message.

LAST SNIPPETS, RUMORS AND HEARSAY MURMERS:

SPOILED MILK: Unpasteurized milk sold at the Blue Lake Rancheria is being recalled after being linked to five cases of child E. coli infection over three months. Health officials are urging everyone to throw away all dairy products produced by the Organic Pastures company. There’s goes the raw milk argument sorely advocated on both by consumers and health officials alike.

AN END RUN: Humboldt County officials tell us that almost-secret negotiations are underway between the Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HMWA) and the Arcata Recycling Center (ACRC) using ACRC’s employees temporarily for recycling operations amidst pending litigation.

FLY THE FRIENDLY SKY: County officials and Gregg Foster of the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission are attempting to lure an additional air carrier to Humboldt County with fee waivers: Allegiant Air and American Eagle. With an estimated 340 passengers flying each way per day from Humboldt County but only 195 seats available for purchase, air service remains scornfully inadequate and price fares sky high. Airlines are reluctant to expand services to the region given the poor economy, officials report.

THE HAVES AND THE HAVE KNOTS: There has been progress moving ahead in emergency weather shelter efforts for Eureka spearheaded by Eureka City Councilmember Mike Newman, District Attorney Paul Gallegos, and other organizations coordinated for the cause. Arcata’s efforts, though, have seemingly stalled like a cold winter’s night.

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS: Humboldt County Chief Probation Officer Bill Damiano is leading efforts recommended by a local corrections steering committee to open a day reporting center in Eureka. With state corrections realignment leaving non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex felony offenders under local supervision instead of sending them to prison, Mr. Damiano believes the new center will streamline and consolidate services under one roof, leading offenders to be more successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community. ”I know we can be more effective with these offenders than the system has been,” Damiano said. The Probation Department is also moving forward with plans of building a new $13 million juvenile correction facility to replace its aging 40 year-old juvenile hall.

GOODBYE MR. CHIPS: You may not have heard much in the soon-to-be 1st District Supervisory race and the unfortunate departure of beloved long time District Supervisor Jimmy Smith. You certainly will between now and June 5th as candidate contenders Rex Bohn and Annette De Modena hit the electoral road. Ms. De Modena has been seen at numerous Board of Supervisors, Planning Department, and other County and City organizations over the past year studiously immersing herself in the knowledge, responsibilities, and the steep learning curve necessary for filling the shoes of 1st District Supervisor. Mr. Bohn has been steadily pulling the strings of his connections, friends, and business associates for endorsements.

HONORABLE MENTIONS go out to President Doris London and County Supervisors Jimmy Smith and Virginia Bass for ushering in the 110th anniversary of the Eureka Woman’s Club. The EWC, as many are aware, is the J Street organization hosting community events for the everyday common people– as opposed to another Eureka social club, the exclusive and by-invitation-only Ingomar.

KUDOS AND KIDS go out to Arcata’s Police Department, City Council, and the Sunrise Rotary for their combined efforts renovating Chevret-Vassaide Park’s playground equipment after being thoroughly torched to melted goo by some very confused young lads.

NIPPING THINGS IN THE BUD: Ms. Kemp’s Hemp Report begs the question of District Attorney Gallegos’ new slant of targeting trimmers with felony charges. Defense attorneys seem to think the nip, tuck, and fix is in.

OUR BLOG FAMILY: The blogs we follow are copious and plentiful. In addition to Josephine’s blog above, we’d like to mention Chocolate Covered Xanax and Lynette’s NorCal History blog. Ms. Xanax is a wonderful collection of writing, descriptions, and an occasional family photograph of most anything under the sun. Ms. NorCal is stuffed with some delightfully interesting pieces of local lore and rare photographs (will Ms. History returns to writing and research after her hiatus ends? Stay tuned). SamoaSoftball brought us a striking picture of brother Roy in Vietnam. One of tens of thousands of GI pictures sent to loved ones, the simple portrait is an especially poignant reminder of the sacrifice of those who served. Thank you for sharing a part of your family and their service with us, Richard.

HUMBOLDT ENTERTAINMENT, EVENTS, AND HAPPENINGS:

YAH, MON: “Let the Wild Rumpus Begin” are the words describing the annual SoHum Harvest Ball this Friday, November 18th at 8pm, at the Mateel Community Center. Headlining will be reggae music’s rising star, Perfect, one of the hits at this year’s Reggae on the River, and Bay Area favorites Luv Fyah and the Reggae Angels. SoHum’s Label GMOs group will be cooking up an organic Irie Caribbean feast free of—what did you expect?—genetically modified organisms, part of their fundraising efforts for getting the GMO labeling initiative onto the 2012 ballot. One world, one love.

WISH YOU WERE HERE: House of Floyd’s reverent tribute to the legendary Pink Floyd happens at the Arkley Center Saturday on the 19th.

GET YOUR FREAK ON? Broken glass, fire, torture, electricity, punctures and piercings and more. Need we say more?

THE CALENDAR:

Friday, November 18

Saturday, November 19

Sunday, November 20

The Weekly Roundup will be taking a vacation. Happy Holidays to all, stay warm and dry, and look out after each other…Skips

No change in outcomes; Johnson’s victory grows wider

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

With provisional ballots all counted up, the record books are closed on Election 2011, with final results to be certified by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors tomorrow morning.

Overall voter turnout in Humboldt County appeared to be slightly less dismal, with 12,269 ballots cast from a pool of 54,601 registered voters, making a 22.5% ratio. Several areas of the county did not have any contests to vote on, as Harbor District seats, Redwood Community College District seats and many school boards and special districts failed to attract any competition.

While some vote percentages grew or shrank, no alterations in the winners and losers were sifted from the totals — yet some local politicos will take additional satisfaction from their slightly improved outcomes.

Susan Johnson, the unexpected victor in the Eureka School Board race against 14-year incumbent Judy Anderson, wound up with an even-greater landslide win of over 16%. Johnson nabbed 3,103 votes over 2,243 for Anderson, with 23 write-in votes.

Measure U, which will consolidate the Fortuna and Rohnerville elementary school districts, passed by less than 4%, with 1,226 in favor and 1,134 against. Fortuna’s high school district seats were claimed by Anita Gage with 1,805 votes and Charles Giannini with 1,681 votes; Kenneth Steele finished 3.4% behind with 1,510 votes and write-in candidates received 42 votes.

The narrowest win to be had this year was in Blue Lake’s school board race — while Lisa Hooven won the first seat easily with 196 votes, Lex Rohn widened a seven-vote lead on election night to emerge with 143 votes in the final tally. Mandi Lewis’ hopes were crushed with a 134 vote result, while Lana Manzanita trailed with 105 votes and write-in candidates received four votes.

The Ferndale Unified School District race was no contest — Kristina Radelfinger received 500 votes and Emil Feierabend got 442 votes to grab the two seats up for grabs. Rey Urbach scored only 176 votes with seven write-ins. Fieldbrook’s school board race was slightly closer, with Richard Grissom grabbing 134 votes and Jeremy Sargent getting 99 votes to lock in their two seats; Linda Broadman received 75 votes and one vote went to a write-in.

McKinleyville’s school board results moved very little, as Sara Rynearson-Alto (1,081) and Brian Mitchell (993) were well ahead of Mary McCarthy (882) and write-ins (14) for those two seats. Nearly frozen in place as well were the three seats going to three incumbents in the Humboldt Community Services District race; Dave Saunderson (1,557), Frank Scolari (1,533) and Kevin McKenny (1,526) handily beat George Davis (1,031) and the write-ins (31).

Probably the source of the most comic relief in an otherwise dry election season, the Manila Community Services District’s three seats stayed with Joy Dellas (70), Jan Bramlett (62) and Mike Seeber (54). Rounding out the lower tier were Susan Opalach (42), Robert Rose (37), Zachary Thomas (17) and Geronimo Garcia (12) with three write-ins.

The biggest blow-out of the year was in the McKinleyville Community Services District race, with seats staying firmly in the hands of John Corbett (1,376) and Helen Edwards (1,323). David Elsebusch got only 483 votes with 27 write-ins.

Shelter Cove’s resort improvement district saw the highest voter turnout of any local contest, with 53.2% of registered voters showing up to the polls (or to their mailboxes). Roger Boedecker received 118 votes, Susan Fox got 104 votes and Nanette Corley nabbed 101 votes to score the final seat; losing out were Dennis Harper with 80 votes, Mark Mitchell with 63 votes and Chet Edeline with 61 votes, along with 5 write-ins.

Finally, the Willow Creek Community Services District seats went to Bruce Nelson (195), Tom O’Gorman (165) and Judy Gower (164); rounding out the field were Marc Rowley (129) and Joe O’Hara (102) with 21 write-ins.

These results will be submitted by Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich to Supervisors at a special meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at the county courthouse.

President Judy Anderson soundly defeated by insurgent Susan Johnson

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

Although the turnout was low, the stakes were high as area voters chose a new direction for Eureka City Schools.

Just in time for the kickoff of the selection process for a new district superintendent, the electorate gave the boot to school board president Judy Anderson.

Challenger Susan Johnson, a local nurse with a son attending Eureka High School, garnered 2,966 votes, trouncing the incumbent by 15%. Anderson received 2,169 votes in preliminary election night results.

While Anderson ran a campaign which included lawn signs, radio ads and the support of most of her fellow school board members, Johnson deployed the resources of the Eureka Teachers Association through Internet advertising and well-timed mass mailers.

The biggest media splash of the campaign came when Anderson refused to participate in the only head-to-head showdown of the campaign, the Candidates’ Debate On Civil Liberties moderated by the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (and produced by the Sentinel). The scuffle was covered in multiple local media outlets, which led to Johnson fielding numerous questions from a sizable live television audience on Oct. 26 — and without the benefit of her opponent.

Johnson stated during the debate that she held serious concerns regarding respect for student rights, the district’s treatment of teachers and classified staff and its expenditure of proceeds from the sale of district properties on remodeled offices for top administrators and the board itself. The school board continues to endure disputes with the teachers union over the burden of rising health care premiums, not to mention public ire over the proposed dumping of the name “Zoe Barnum” from its continuation high school.

Overall voter turnout in Humboldt County was 21.37% — or 11,669 actual voters showing up out of the 54,601 who were registered. While this may seem low, such a level of public interest bests the election turnout in several other special district elections — most notably the post-911 turnout of 11% in the Arcata School Board race ten years ago. Local voters were denied the usual round of high-stakes Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District contests, as the outgoing incumbents handed off their seats to handpicked successors without any other challengers stepping forward in the First and Second Districts, while Pat Higgins in the Fifth District was automatically re-elected without contest.

Summing up

In other local school election news, Measure U to consolidate the Fortuna and Rohnerville districts passed 1,158 to 1,055, with a new unified school board to be elected next year. Also in Fortuna, Anita Gage and Charles Giannini on top in the School Board race, with Kenneth Steele 61 votes behind Giannini, who enjoyed the vocal support of the Humboldt Tea Party Patriots.

In Ferndale, Kristina Radelfinger and Emil Feierabend demolished Rey Urbach by over 24% in their Unified School District contest. Richard Grissom with 131 votes and Jeremy Sargent with 96 votes bested the 73 votes in favor of Linda Broadman to determine the Fieldbrook Elementary School Board race. Sara Rynearson-Alto and Security National’s Brian Mitchell hold on to their McKinleyville School seats, besting Mary McCarthy by 203 and 117 votes, respectively. Rounding out schools, Lisa Hooven wins with a third of the votes in a four-way race in Blue Lake; Lex Rohn bests Mandi Lewis by only 7 votes.

Dave Saunderson, Frank Scolari and Kevin McKenny all easily won their Humboldt Community Services District seats by 474+ votes over George Davis. Joy Dellas, Jan Bramlett and Mike Seeber win in Manila’s CSD race, the later by 12 votes over Susan Opalach. Geronimo Garcia got exactly 12 votes from ballots cast in Manila’s Community Service District contest — of course that was 4.4% of them.

Perennial candidate David Elsebusch got creamed in the McKinleyville Community Services District race — 577 votes behind Helen Edwards and 620 votes behind John Corbett.

In the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District, a six-way circus for three Resort Improvement seats ends with Boedecker (114 votes), Corley & Fox (both 97 votes) on top. Lastly, Willow Creek CSD seats go to Bruce Nelson with 189 votes, Judy Gower with 162 votes & Tom O’Gorman with 161 votes, defeating Rowley (128 votes) & O’Hara (101 votes).

Protesters reportedly violent, arrests made

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

KIEM-TV News reported early this morning:

“Starting around 3:40 a.m. Monday Eureka Police vacated campers at the Occupy Eureka campsite on the Humboldt County Courthouse lawn. Around a dozen arrests were made as “occupants” resisted police presence. Police moved campers across 5th street to a parking lot area. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Arcata Police aided in the campsite cleanup and directing traffic while protesters were vacated. Video to follow”

The Humboldt Herald reported:

“(KIEM reporter Kelly May) said EPD Chief Murl Harpham was on scene and that multiple arrests were made ‘as protesters [became] violent.’ Until more information is forthcoming, the Humboldt Herald advises readers to take this information with a grain of salt given the infamous poop and pee inquiry by KIEM on Friday.

Did KIEM have advance notice of the raid? May was the first to tweet the pre-dawn raid as it was going down. KIEM seems to be tight with Harpham and his view of things.”

The Lost Coast Outpost added:

“The Eureka Police Department, with some backup from the Sheriff’s Office and the Arcata Police Department, took down the occupation of the courthouse lawn early this morning.

From the Occupy Arcata Facebook page: As heard from an eye witness, Occupy Eureka was raided last night by police, and Hans was severely beaten, the camp has been dispersed. All people need to show support and go there, and stand in solidarity with the people!

UPDATE, 7:30 a.m.: KIEM reporter Kelly May — one of the two KIEM news team members to scrape with the Occupiers — tweeted from the scene:

• Occupy Eureka is raided by police.

• 2 arrests just made at Occupy Eureka. 2 hours ago

• UPDATE: Chief Harpham of EPD is on scene. More arrests made as protesters become violent.”

By 8:30 am this morning the Courthouse lawn was cleared of the encampment save for a few bare spots covered in a scattering of wood chips and a small pile of trash. The area was cordoned off in yellow tape reading, ‘Police– Do Not Cross.’ 6 protesters stood on the adjacent sidewalk watched by 3 EPD officers from a distance. It was a peaceful and quiet scene as County employees scurried up the courthouse steps to work.

One protester said of the raid:

“They came in early this morning with their guns. One had a large cannon-like gun pointed at us that was frightening. We were given an order to move all of our stuff across 5th street in 10 minutes. We did. There was a lot of confusion. There were 9 of us arrested, handcuffed, placed in a van and other vehicles, and taken away to jail. They beat several people. Hans was beaten with batons and had his arm broken or sprained,” she said, before falling into tears.

EPD Officer Watson said there were 6-8 arrests for disorderly conduct and other charges. He believed one officer was assaulted– but had no further details.

A Times-Standard reporter and photographer present wondered how KIEM-TV was notified and able to be on the scene at the time of the raid when the Times-Standard wasn’t made aware of the events taking place until after they had occurred.

Protesters had no word of of what future actions they may take regarding the raid and their dispersal from the Courthouse.

Petty thefts, altercations with media exacerbates tensions

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

A few bad apples covered by the press can spoil an occupation’s message as reported by incidents in Thursday’s Sentinel.

…Now we have the Eureka Police Department press report of purloined cream for the cause on November 3:

“On 11-03-2011 at about 10:45 am, the Eureka Police Department was contacted by an employee of Starbuck’s Coffee shop concerning a theft. The employee went on to explain that a subject identifying himself as a representative of “Occupy” solicited the employee for a donation of perishables to their cause. The request was declined and the subject stepped away from the counter. As the subject exited the store, he stole a carafe of cream from a counter and left the store.

The suspect was described as in his 20’s, wearing brown worn out Carhart pants, a light colored sweater in poor condition, and a brown knit beanie. Officers were dispatched to the courthouse and located a carafe matching the stolen property on a table that the “Occupy” members were using for their food items. The carafe was identified by a Starbuck’s employee and recovered by an Officer. Starbuck’s wished no prosecution in the matter.

The Eureka Police Department wishes to share this information with the public, especially local business owners, in case this is not an isolated event.”

…Followed by EPD’s second release of toilet biohazards, intimidation, assault, a shanghaied sign, and a warning:

“On 11-04-2011, Officers of the Eureka Police Department responded to several crimes involving subjects who appear to be affiliated with the “Occupy Eureka” group.

At about 8:09 am, Officers responded to the 5th Street branch of US Bank for a biohazard report. A US Bank representative reported that she came to work to find an unknown subject(s) had urinated and defecated in the entry way to the bank. This is the second occurrence of this type at US Bank this week.

While taking the biohazard report, the officer was also advised that a complaint had been made to US Bank by a customer concerning being surrounded and harassed by subjects from the “Occupy” group, when they attempted to use the US Bank ATM.

At about 10:04 am, the Eureka Police Department responded to the “Occupy Eureka” campsite at the Humboldt County Courthouse for an assault report. Officers contacted members of the media, who had been assaulted while interviewing members of “Occupy Eureka”. The media reported that while they were conducting an interview, an “Occupy Eureka” member stepped forward and pushed the camera man and reporter. He then fled.

Also recovered at the “Occupy Eureka” campsite was a stolen Walgreens sign which was returned to Walgreens.

The Eureka Police Department would like to warn citizens to be cautious when using the ATM’s or Banking in the downtown area of Eureka, due to increased aggressive behavior by this group.”
(courtesy Hank Sims and the Lost Coast Outpost)

…Then came the double whammy reports of KIEM-TV’s footage of the altercation and the Humboldt Herald’s surprising column on Friday.

…Occupy Eureka, however, had a very different take on the incident following their press release:

“OCCUPY EUREKA DEMONSTRATORS ATTACKED BY LOCAL NBC AFFILIATE”
Contact: Occupy Eureka, occupyeureka@gmail.com

“Eureka, CA: This morning, Friday November 4, 2011, two reporters from KIEM News Channel 3 accosted members of Occupy Eureka on the lawn of the Humboldt County Courthouse. The Occupy Eureka demonstration is one of 1500 worldwide that have sprouted up since September 17 in rebellion against corporate control and protesting the fact that 1% of the people have a hugely disproportionate amount of wealth and power over the 99% in our society.

The Channel 3 reporters, Betsy Lambert and Kelly May, aggressively entered the demonstration area, questioning participants about an incident, unrelated to Occupy Eureka. The reporters shoved cameras into peoples’ faces, arguably assaulting the demonstrators, then appeared frustrated when no one present had information about the incident. Ms. Lambert and Ms. May then proceeded to force their way into peoples’ tents, camera first. The reporters then called the Eureka Police, complaining that a man in a tent pushed their camera. Later, Ms. Lambert posted on Facebook that an Occupy Eureka demonstrator had “pushed” her cohort, a claim that was then repeated by the Eureka Police in a press release.

On the scene, Ms. Lambert, known locally for being aggressive and inappropriate in her attempts to create a story, spoke to Eureka police, and attempted to block onlookers from filming.

Nonetheless, she was overheard telling officers, “When are you going to evict these people? Twenty-five percent of the population wants them out.” Just two days ago, Ms. May aired a story entitled, “Occupy Eureka: When Will The Arrests Begin?” The biased title seems to promote police action against demonstrators.

The KIEM Channel 3 reporters were aggressive, confrontational and unprofessional. They clearly came with a preconceived motive to discredit Occupy Eureka and distract from the issues raised by the non-violent demonstration which receives popular support locally and nationally. Media bias is a prevalent issue not only for the Occupy Wall Street movement, but also for many movements demanding social justice and opposing corporate dominance and militarization.

‘We at Occupy Eureka are confident that the community will see through the media bias, and that this incident will reinforce support for this movement.’ says participant Sarah Jones.”

Is the true message of Occupy Eureka coming through and still ringing true? Readers can decide for themselves. The uncensored information is here– no one controls it.

Happy Guy Fawkes day.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

40 YEARS OF BUSINESS TOSSED CURBSIDE: Despite numerous negotiations and political bickering, the Arcata Community Recycling Center’s (ACRC) Board of Directors voted to cease all operations by January of 2012. ACRC is officially DOA and its 35 employees were tossed out the window as collateral damage after the awarding of the recycling bid contract by the Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA) to a competing Willits company. The dollars and sense didn’t add up for ratepayers– nor did the ongoing clash of wills between HWMA director Jim Test and ACRC director Mark Loughmiller. “ACRC has been around for 40 years, but they priced themselves out of the market,” Test said. ACRC, believing otherwise, is suing the waste authority.

HUMBOLDT OCCUPATIONS CONTINUE: Defying oncoming rain and frost, occupiers weather on after 27 days and nights. Occupy HSU has 10 student campers sleeping on the Quad. Occupy Arcata, with 10-15 demonstrators, has moved its encampment quarters from the Arcata Plaza to the Arcata City Hall lawn staying one step ahead of numerous complaints. The Arcata Eye gives us the latest chapter in true Hoover style reporting the humps and lumps taking place there.

In Occupy Eureka, 15 occupiers are holding down their narrow patch of sod with tents and a makeshift kitchen– despite the ‘No Camping’ signs drilled into the Courthouse lawn early last Thursday morning and a phalanx of 6 officers reportedly staring them down from across the street the night before.

It was reported by witnesses that independent news media were denied access to the Occupy Eureka protest last week leading to the verbally abusive and hostile exchange of words by activist Kim “Verbena” Starr. Starr’s agitating actions and temper were later disapproved of as not being representative of the demonstrators and “not condoned” by the Occupy Eureka General Assembly when the censorship complaint was brought forward the following day.

Eureka Police Department officers were dispatched to US Bank this Wednesday in response to a report that protesters in dark clothes and masks were causing a disturbance by shouting and banging on the bank’s window with a big stick. Officers found the activists a few blocks away, protesting outside Bank of America and Chase. Rumors are circulating on good authority the protesters’ days are numbered: overnighters occupying the courthouse lawn will soon be evicted in short order by the long boot of EPD, perhaps by the time you read this. Nonetheless, the local Moveon.org chapter is organizing its members to support the Occupy protesters with a rally at the County Courthouse, Saturday from 1-4 p.m.

SHENANIGANS, VANDALS, AND BAD JUJU SCANDALS: Wanton acts of destruction by different Halloween hooligans struck several Fortuna cemeteries, shattered a plate glass window to swipe the historic 70 year old Milk Can trophy from Ferndale High School, and thoroughly trashed the Arcata Plaza. In the latter situation, “hundreds of Halloween revelers” left behind broken bottles and shards of glass, spews of vomit mixed with mounds of trash, trampled flower beds, condoms, whippets, human excrement, and a plastered McKinley statue covered in painted graffiti. 51 garbage bags, 3,000 pounds of trash, 40 staff hours of work cleaning up the aftermath. Lordy. With damage estimates of $30,000, the reckless revelry has become increasingly worse over the past 3 years. Arcata Police responded to 100 calls, arrested 30 people, and attended to 7 medical incidents of over-intoxication, head injuries, and one man who drunkenly jumped from a roof breaking his ankle. Police Chief Tom Chapman said, “The level of disrespect for the community is astonishing. The combination of alcohol and a costume gave some a sense of drunken stupidity and lawlessness.”

SUPER SIZE ME: While the amusingly puerile Humboldt Mirror pines that bigger is better for Big Boxes, the minions, the homeless, and us, the SoHum Parlance II blog tips us off to an entirely different take regarding the voracious appetite of Ukiah’s Walmart. Proposed plans call for a nearly 50% square foot addition, expanding the store’s hours to 24 hours a day seven days a week, and creating the sales of distilled spirits, a vision care center, and a medical clinic. The expanded section of food items planned will “rival the selection at grocery stores.” The siphoning of customers from local businesses is expected to lead to the closure of 2 other food stores nearby. The final Environmental Impact Report will be heard November 9— just in time for Thanksgiving.

While some may rejoice that McDonald’s McRib sandwich is temporarily back tingling local culinary tongues, you may not want to know what’s in it: not exactly what one considers meat. Is it bad for you? Let’s put it this way. It’s not good for you. With a total of 70 ingredients, the McRib is a complicated mess. The bun alone contains 34 components, including among other chemicals, azodicarbonamide: “a flour-bleaching agent most commonly used in the manufacturing of foamed plastics like gym mats and the soles of shoes.”

It’s also no proprietary secret that The Journal reports on the public concern of GMOs in ‘Just Label It,’ noting that “…90 percent of Americans support the labeling of foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)… a right that more than 50 other nations, including China and Russia, protect with mandatory GMO labeling. The glaring disconnect between America’s celebrated democratic ideals and the FDA’s refusal to budge on GMO labeling may be about to crumble…” We believe in better living through science and Big Boxes– and those beguiling flavor chemists toiling away in New Jersey labs.

BUILDING BABYLON BY THE BAY: Venom meets vigilance in the snakepit of Humboldt County planning? Just why do people hate Kirk Girard?

Open Door Community Health Center has broken ground building their new $10 million facility in Eureka. Hospice of Humboldt is fundraising for their proposed $11 million project comprising administrative offices and an end-of-life care facility. While Wild Planet Seafoods is slowly moving into their new digs at Eureka’s waterfront C Street Market Square following millions of dollars spent by the City of Eureka Redevelopment Agency, Kurt Kramer Properties labors on into a second year reconstructing the formerly beloved Old Town Bar and Grill building that fell apart during the 2010 earthquake.

Eureka City Councilman Mike Newman related this week one of the important and final environmental hurdles has been cleared by the State Lands Commission enabling CUE VI to begin cleaning up the Balloon Track. Mr. Newman also assured us that “cleaning up the Balloon Track has been happening all along” and we’ll soon see results in short order. The rest of the council remained curiously silent.

Time to go green? True, the gleaming, out of place, multi-million dollar College Creek apartment complex gracing the southwest corner of the HSU campus is finished and ready for occupancy– but no parking spaces were planned or created accommodating the 430 new student residents.

Caltrans is crashing headlong into obstacles and an uphill battle presented by the Eureka City Council, the Board of Supervisors, and Jacobs Avenue businesses over their proposed $23 million Safety Corridor Improvements. Caltrans is proposing shutting down most of the Highway 101 medians between Eureka and Arcata. Opposition was voiced by local businesses complaining they were being leaned on to accept the safety plans– or else have their customer access to Highway 101 cut off. Councilmember Linda Atkins suggested simply enforcing traffic speed limits along the corridor would eliminate the need, expense, and problems proposed. The Caltrans spokesman was flummoxed when asked to respond.

The collapsed roof of Eureka’s St. Vincent de Paul building is being repaired in the nick of time for the rainier-than-normal season expected. You’ll remember the collapse was caused by a pile of debris left behind by the Roof Doctor company. We notice the new repairs caused by the old repairs causing the collapse are being done by… McMurray and Sons roofing company.

LAST SNIPPETS: Kym Kemp is amazing in her SoHum marijuana topics du jour. Check out her latest buzz regarding the recent Dinsmore bust involving 39 arrests and the surprisingly quick slap on the wrist plea agreement for the kingpin of the $1 million, 400+ pound, Hydesville grow and bust merely 10 days after his arrest.

Tuesday, November 8 is an election day: voters will watch the drama unfold on the boards of a 6 school districts, 4 community service districts, and one mysterious Resort Improvement District in Shelter Cove that doesn’t like questions from the pesky press. Speaking of ducking the press, Eureka School Board voters are reminded of incumbent Judy Anderson’s no-show for a televised public debate forum. Candidate Susan Johnson took the time to show up and address issues.

9 members of Congress, including Mike Thompson, sent a letter to the White House asking for the current crackdown on medical marijuana to end.

Jewels, gems, shiny things, and fossils: the Annual Gem and Mineral show is shining at Redwood Acres this weekend.

Pink Martini plays this Saturday, Jackson Browne Sunday, and Wild Flag Monday at HSU Center Arts.

KMUD’s Battle of the Rock Bands is set for this Saturday, November 5.

You can support local business, find a good bargain, provide quality educational programming all at once: Public Broadcasting Television KEET-TV’s fundraising auction and list of $60,000 in gifts is happening November 7-10 and 14-17, from 7:00-11:00 pm. Ask for KEET’s “2 for 1” card of merchant discounts thrown in with your winning bid or membership.

The University of California is hosting workshops for landowners passing forests down to the next generation November 9 and 10.

Mattole Restoration organizations are planning a roundtable discussion November 18 related to the restoration of the Mattole watersheds.

Comfortably numb and always sold out: House of Floyd’s flawless tribute to the one and only Pink performs at the Arkley Center Saturday the 19th.

Eastern Humboldt’s Redbud Theater has announced its November production dates for ‘Academia Nuts.’

$10 gets some family time outdoors and a tree: christmas tree permits are available for sale by Six Rivers National Forest through December.

Humboldt is fortunate having an array of great local blogs of notable merit. Ernie’s Place is home to the wit, wisdom, and history of long time Garberville native Ernie Branscomb. Ever the de facto community leader covering a number of wide topics, Ernie has branched out of the dust, mud, and blood taking your opinion and solutions for the good, the bad, the ugly, and the things needing change through his new website for making Garberville a better place.

HUMBOLDT EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS FOR THIS WEEKEND:
FRIDAY November 4
SATURDAY November 5
SUNDAY November 6

EPD warns anarchist flag contingent against aggression

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Protesters associated with ‘Occupy Eureka’ marched on the Eureka branches of the nation’s largest megabanks yesterday, bringing the attention of local law enforcement due to reports of intimidation.

At about 1:22 p.m., Eureka Police Department personnel reported their dispatch to the 5th Street branch of US Bank in response to a report of protesters causing a disturbance — but when they got there, no protesters were in sight.

It turned out that the protest had moved on to the 4th Street branches of Chase Bank and Bank of America , where the cops were subsequently sent to. EPD actually found the protesters this time, and warned them against “any further aggressive activities” according to sergeant Patrick O’Neill in a release.

According to the allegations of witnesses as reported by EPD, black-clad demonstrators, some of whom were wearing masks, entered all three branches, chanting slogans such as “Wall Street has blood on their hands.” One suspect was with the protesters and allegedly carried a large stick, one used to bang on the front glass doors of US Bank.

EPD supposedly heard from local residents later in the day, who allegedly had complaints “concerning the fear and intimidation that they experienced,” O’Neill stated.

These incidents were followed up today by an alleged theft from the 5th Street Starbucks outlet by a self-identified “Occupy Eureka” protester. EPD responded at 10:45 a.m. to the coffee shop, where an employee told the cops that a subject solicited the employee for a donation of perishables for their cause. Upon their request being rejected, the subject stole a carafe of cream on their way out of the store.

This suspect was described as a male in their 20s, wearing a light-colored sweater, brown worn-out Carhart pants and a brown beanie. This description matches the appearance of an unnamed person associated with PARC/Redwood Curtain Copwatch head Kim “Verbena” Starr who engaged in physical intimidation against a Humboldt Sentinel reporter last Thursday.

Upon dispatch to the county courthouse, EPD personnel could not find the subject; they did, however, find the carafe of cream. The stolen item was sitting on a table that “Occupy Eureka” uses for their supposedly donated food and drink items.

As Starbucks did not wish to have the matter prosecuted, no arrests were made, and the item was returned to the cafe. EPD is soliciting any information from local residents as to whether other such incidents have occurred.

EPD finds drug hubs at A Street home, 16th Street apartment

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Ongoing complaints from neighbors were acted upon once more in the form of a joint raid by Eureka police and Humboldt County Drug Task Force agents yesterday.

Five people were arrested in connection with an apparent heroin ring centered on a multi-unit residence on the 1200 block of A Street, although only four of them are in jail tonight.

At about 6:50 p.m., investigators served a search warrant on the home, finding a loaded heroin syringe and numerous other hypodermic syringes, as well as substantial evidence of drug sales — digital gram scale covered with tar heroin, cut up plastic bags and heroin residue-covered scissors.

James Derryberry

The primary tenant, 51-year-old James Travis Derryberry II, had over two grams of heroin packaged for sale and another syringe upon search of his person, according to a release by EPD sergeant Steve Watson. He was arrested on possession of a controlled substance for sale, maintaining a drug house and unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle — but was not taken to jail. Due to an unnamed medical condition not caused by police in their search, Derryberry was taken to St. Joseph Hospital for treatment, and was later released for a later court appearance.

The Problem Oriented Policing unit also found Eureka resident Wayne Wisdom,

Kenneth Wisdom

60, with a hypodermic needle on his person, and arrested him on that charge.

During their investigation, Derryberry’s phone rang, evidently by a heroin user looking to trade Derryberry her prescription meds for heroin and money. Watson identified her as Arcata resident Dawn Rene Robinson, 35 (also known as Dawn Wilfong) , and arrested her when she arrived at the residence.

Dawn Wilfong-Robinson

Upon launching a ruse that she was conversing with Derrberry, the cops coaxed her to arrive in a 2003 Ford Taurus with her 17-month-old daughter in the backseat, not to mention a 60-pill bottle of Lorazepam which had been prescribed to her that same day. She was arrested on controlled substance and child endangerment charges, with the daughter released to Child Welfare Services and the pharmacy advised of Robinson’s attempt to illegally trade her meds.

At 3 p.m. the next day, the POP unit struck again, this time serving a warrant at an apartment on the 600 block of 16th Street. As ever, the warrant was obtained upon assistance from locals with information on residents who were selling heroin.

According to Watson, investigators located dozens of used syringes upon their search, as well as cooker spoons, pipes and empty drug packaging. Once again while the cops were conducting their search, a female suspect showed up looking to score heroin.

Mingo Gaitan

Mingo Allen Gaitan, 38 of Eureka, was arrested on drug house, drug paraphernalia and drug needle charges, as was Eleanor Floy Bettes, 27 of Eureka.

Eleanor Bettes

POP asked those who have information on related activities to come forward and contact them at (707) 441-4373 or the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at (707) 444-8095.

Humboldt County Human Rights Commission also to take up Brown Act, public restrooms

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

With rebellious encampments inspired by ‘Occupy Wall Street’ springing up throughout California, the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission is set to take up the re-implementation of a protest monitoring program.

Unlike surveillance by law enforcement, corporate cartels or Homeland Security, however, this activity is designed not to intimidate or curtail protests, but to monitor their peaceful coexistence with powerful government and private interests.

The Independent Observers Program, originally created as a partnership between the Commission and the local American Civil Liberties Union, consists of men and women who go out to protests neither to join in them or attempt to disrupt them. Instead, they typically wear light blue hats and vests with ‘IOP’ clearly visible, and stand as witnesses to monitor the interaction between demonstrators and security, whether public or private.

The IOP was particularly active in the ‘timber wars’ of the 1990s when the struggle over the cut-and-run tactics of the junk-bond peddling Maxxam Corporation, which had taken control of Pacific Lumber, was at its peak. IOP members observed a string of protests on timberlands and in the city, marking down when confrontations between environmental activists and security forces became heated and even violent. Although active during the local peace protests that marked the early years of the Bush Administration, IOP fell dormant until recent calls for its presence were made to the local ACLU.

Commissioners are also planning to address the subject of public restrooms across the county — an issue also arising from the Occupy protests, with Occupy Eureka in receipt of an Oct. 20 letter from county administrative officer Philip Smith-Hanes denying protestors the ability to access restrooms in the county courthouse after hours. Occupy Arcata has also sent a request to the Arcata City Council asking for a public restroom near the Plaza. A porta-pottie erected in a veterans park in Garberville was quickly removed at the behest of the local Chamber of Commerce this summer over concerns that it was ‘attracting’ the homeless.

In addition to typical items such as the implementation of police review in the county, the commission’s agenda also includes a discussion of the Brown Act. This long-standing state law is intended to prevent corruption in local and state government by requiring decisions to be made in public session, and only by elected representatives who do not hold a fiduciary interest in the outcome of government actions.

The Human Rights Commission meets the first Thursday of every month at 5 p.m., with this month’s meeting falling on Nov. 3. They take place in Conference Room A on the first floor of the county courthouse.

Redwood ACLU hosts Eureka School Board televised forum with or without incumbent

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Local champions of civil liberties on the North Coast are holding another of their customary candidate forums to flesh out issues of public policy.

This time, however, it appears one of the candidates is running for office and running away from a televised forum — even one that is taking place on school grounds.

Judy Anderson, the incumbent running for re-election to the Board of Eureka City Schools, sent an e-mail recently to the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in which she flatly refused to participate in a debate at Access Humboldt’s Community Media Center studio (located at Eureka High School) with her opponent, registered nurse Susan Johnson.

“I believe an open format debate with questions coming from a live audience provides a fairer forum,” Anderson wrote the Redwood ACLU in an e-mail.

Their chapter’s chair, Greg Allen, fired back, calling the accusation ‘patently absurd’ in a release today.

“History has shown that the debates we sponsor have been unbiased and impartial,” Allen stated.

The Redwood ACLU press release also pointed out the near-identical format that tomorrow night’s debate is following compared to the design of the League of Women Voters used in their multitudinous candidate forums on the local public broadcasting network, KEET-TV Channel 13. Both sorts of forums allow for voters watching the live televised debate to phone in their questions for the candidates.

The chapter’s board of directors met last week, voting unanimously to hold the debate with or without Anderson, holding an empty chair open for her. Johnson has already committed to appearing at the forum, which will be moderated by Redwood ACLU boardmember and former Eureka City Council candidate Xandra Manns.

In their release, the Redwood ACLU boasted of holding the only televised forum in a different school board race — the Northern Humboldt Union High School District in 2005 saw eight candidates vying for three seats. They also held a pair of District Attorney candidate forums last year, including on Oct. 14 between Paul Gallegos and Allison Jackson at Access Humboldt.

The forum, even a one-way one, will take place on Oct. 26 from 7 to 8 p.m. on Access Humboldt Channel 11, and will take audience questions after some questions on civil rights-related subject are relayed to the candidate or candidates.

“The debate allows the voters to get a handle on what the candidates have to say in
this important election,” Allen stated.

For more information, contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com. Their office is located at 917 3rd Street in Old Town Eureka.

“No Hate Here” vigil seeks to combat racist violence

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Educators, law enforcement and civil rights activists are joining forces to respond to a racially-fueled murder.

This Saturday, the “No Hate Here” vigil in Southside Eureka will honor the memory of Eureka resident Reginald Alan Clark, who was admittedly murdered by David Joseph Pedersen and Holly Grigsby on Oct. 4.

According to organizers, the vigil, and a meeting immediately afterwards to focus on bias-fueled violence, will allow community members to express their fears and concerns given the uptick in violence during the ongoing economic crisis.

“We were incredibly disheartened to learn of Mr. Reginald Clark’s murder and to be reminded that even in a nation as great as ours, we are still fighting forces of discrimination and evil,” Eureka Branch NAACP organizer Liz Smith stated in a release. “This event will be important in that it will bring the community together to discuss real-time solutions to hate crimes and to heal from this loss.”

In addition to the local organ of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the event is also co-sponsored by the Humboldt County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, the Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at Humboldt State University and the Bias Response Team at HSU. The Eureka Police Department’s interim chief, Murl Harpham, is also expected to attend, as are representatives of the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Program, the Emma Center, Temple Beth El and several local businesses.

“We see the connections between hate murder and the every day forms of anti-semitism and racism in our community.” HSU professor Kim Berry stated. “We also recognize the connections between white supremacy and sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, classism, and ableism. We as a community must do the hard work of building coalitions to stop all forms of hate and violence in our community — and to end the everyday acts of bias and discrimination as well as the acts of physical violence.”

Organizers make the connection between communal grieving and the creation of a world built on compassion, non-violence and justice.

“Communities have tremendous abilities to care for each other and support each other — including supporting each other in the face of hate and bias,” HSU Bias Response coordinator Jennifer Eichstedt stated. “We hope to develop strategies to decrease the likelihood of hate crimes.”

The public vigil and meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, and takes place at the Eureka Boys and Girls Club, located at the corner of Harris Street and I Street. The public is invited to contact Eichstedt for more information at (707) 826-4949 or BiasResponse@humboldt.edu.

Dawn Elsbree’s ‘Listening Tour’ mostly hearing from same old establishment

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

With criticism mounting over the failure of the Headwaters Fund Board to create jobs, their response is to engage in a protracted bout of listening. As a result, their head staffer is headed to Eureka City Hall on Tuesday to deliver the results of a peculiarly one-sided conversation concerning local economic development.

Coming off of a series of swipes by the Humboldt County Grand Jury concerning the cozy relationship between the Fund Board and the Community Development Department — which both overseas the staffing of the Headwaters Fund and occasionally receives grants from their pot of money — Fund Coordinator Dawn Elsbree  is tasked to explain to the Eureka City Council why her Board isn’t so out of touch with the needs of small business.

“The vast majority thought we should be supporting our entrepreneurs — both the successful companies already here and new start ups,” Elsbree stated in her executive summary. “The most frequently cited supports requested were: pre-permitted land for business development, industrial parks, incubators, in particular a high tech one, access to low interest capital, and mentorship programs for businesses.”

Elsbree claimed to have interviewed over 100 business and community leaders from April to August of this year; while supporting new businesses is often cited by the Headwaters Fund and the Economic Development Division of the county in general as vital to future economic growth, very few of the individuals listed in her interview list actually fit that description.

Ironically enough, Elsbree said a unifying concern of her survey was a political climate described as divisive, with a vocal minority controlling processes — yet her interview list appears to be a roster of insiders, from Supervisors Virginia Bass and Mark Lovelace, to Security National billionaire Rob Arkley, to an assortment of high-level bureaucrats, bankers, realtors and financiers. The only journalist interviewed was Hank Sims of Lost Coast Communications, a company controlled by Blue Lake Casino and by Patrick Cleary, a former executive at Chase Manhattan.

“People feel that the moderate majority has become disillusioned and checked out of decision making processes and are no longer heard,” Elsbree went on to state. “The request is for politicians to take a stand in helping to create a unified vision that the community as a whole is behind and becomes the tool for shutting down the extremes.”

One pointed criticism of the Headwaters Fund that made it through Elsbree’s filter was the lack of access to low interest capital. Gap loan funds available through the Headwaters programs with Arcata Economic Development Corporation and Redwood Region Economic Development Commission had, she admitted, too high an interest rate, often topping 9 to 10 percent. No solution was presented in Elsbree’s report on this matter.

The Headwaters Fund was established in the wake of the state and federal governments’ purchase of the Headwaters Forest from the former Pacific Lumber Company. To make up for the loss of local timber jobs and property tax revenues, $22 million was set aside for local economic development, and the Board of Supervisors adopted the Headwaters Fund Charter in 2002 to provide for semi-independent management of the fund.

Elsbree’s report came with zero comments from Euerka City staff, and is set to round out the end of the evening’s City Council meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. on Oct. 18.

In addition

Councilmembers are also looking at a big-ticket public works contract, as the 1950-vintage water reservoir is in dire need of maintenance. The low bidder on the contract is Farr Construction of Sparks, Nev. to re-coat the roof structure of the 20 million gallon tank; this will require $250,000 from city water reserves as part of a $1 million bid.

In his end-of-meeting report, City Manager Dave Tyson is recommending the scheduling of a future meeting to discuss campaign financing — the prior City Council adopted an ordinance implementing a $500 cap on campaign contributions, although this law only took affect after the conclusion of the 2010 City Council campaigns for the Mayor and Councilmembers representing the first, third and fifth wards.

John Mullan struck by vehicle after allegedly blowing through stop sign

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel 

A local resident was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries he succumbed to today after he was struck by a truck yesterday afternoon at the intersection of 6th Street and K Street in Eureka.

According to an EPD release, public safety personnel responded at approximately 4:29 p.m. on Friday to a traffic collision near City Hall. Traffic officer Tim Jones alleged that John Mullan of Eureka rode his bicycle northbound on K Street and blew through the stop sign at 6th Street. In doing so, says Jones, Mullan rode into the path of a westbound Toyota pickup truck driven by Eureka resident Shane Jackson, who unsuccessfully attempted to avoid the collision only to end up colliding with a vehicle legally parked on the north curb line of 6th Street west of K Street.

The bicyclist was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital to be treated for the possibly fatal head injuries sustained in the collision — which were exacerbated, claims EPD, due to the fact that Mullan was not wearing a helmet. In a release this afternoon from EPD, Mullan was declared brain dead today at the hospital due to his injuries — the fourth fatal traffic accident in Eureka this year.

The investigation is still ongoing according to Jones, with no determination as yet as to whether drugs or alcohol played a role.

EPD once again urged bicyclists to obey all posted stop signs and traffic signals just as motorists are required to under the California Vehicle Code. Any witnesses to the accident are asked to call Jones at (707) 441-4109.