Humboldt Sentinel

Sacramento makes things that much more complicated

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

Out with the old– and in with the new.  California Governor Brown signed 760 bills with the majority of laws taking effect on or before January 1st, 2012.  Happy New Year, Humboldt.

Say goodbye to shark fin soup, openly carrying weapons, and buying alcohol through self serve checkout stands.  Minors are protected from expired baby food, strapped into car booster seats until the age of 8 (or at 4 feet, 9 inches tall), and banned from tanning beds until the age of 18.

Insurance providers must include coverage for autism, cities and municipalities cannot ban circumcision, and human trafficking isn’t as easy as it used to be.

Here are some of the A-Z legislative highlights compiled by the Los Angeles Times:

Athlete safety: requires school districts to develop a process for identifying cases in which students suffer concussions in sports mishaps and require a parent to give written permission for the athlete to return to the lineup.

Audits: gives the state auditor broad new powers to investigate misuse of taxpayer funds by cities and counties, in response to the financial scandal in the city of Bell.

Autism:  requires health insurers to include coverage for autism.

Baby food: bans stores from selling expired infant food and formula.

Bail: requires that people extradited to California to face criminal charges face $100,000 in bail in addition to any bail already issued for the underlying offense.

Ballot measures: requires all ballot initiatives and referenda to be decided in November general elections, which typically have higher turnout — and more liberal voters casting ballots — than do June primaries. Excludes measures placed on the ballot by the Legislature.

Beer: bars the importation, production and sale of beer to which caffeine has been directly added as a separate ingredient, in response to incidents in which young people have been hospitalized with severe intoxication after drinking the beverages.

Bullet train: provides $4 million for planning work on a section of a high-speed rail system proposed between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Child actors: streamlines the process for obtaining state permission for minors to work in the entertainment industry by allowing parents to get temporary permits online rather than through the mail.

Clemency: requires governors to give prosecutors a chance to weigh in at least 10 days before acting on requests for commutation of prison terms. The law was proposed after former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acted on his last day in office to reduce a prison sentence for the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez.

Cyber-bullying: allows schools to suspend students for bullying classmates on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Development projects: grants large construction projects chosen by the governor faster judicial reviews of environmental challenges.

Dream Act: The portion of the California Dream Act taking effect this year makes illegal immigrants accepted at California public universities and community colleges eligible for privately funded scholarships administered by the schools.

Drugs: outlaws the supplying of a drug or compound containing dextromethorphan to a person younger than 18 without a prescription.

Drunk drivers: authorizes courts to revoke, for up to a decade, the driver’s license of any person convicted of three or more DUIs in a 10-year period. Another law bars police agencies that set up drunk-driving checkpoints from impounding cars from sober but unlicensed drivers if there is a legal driver available to take the wheel.

Elder abuse: allows wage garnishments against anyone convicted of elder abuse or financial abuse of a dependent adult.

Farmworkers: requires that, if the Agricultural Labor Relations Board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct, the affected labor organization shall be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative.

Food stamps: eliminates the requirement that food stamp recipients be fingerprinted to prevent fraud. Another law calls for state agencies to promote more enrollment in the federal food stamp program.

Foster care: allows foster care for eligible youths to extend beyond age 18, up to age 21, when the Legislature provides the money. Another measure requires California State University campuses and community colleges to give foster youths priority to enroll in classes.

Gas pipelines: mandates automatic shut-off valves and improved maintenance in vulnerable sections of pipelines, in response to the deadly explosion in San Bruno in 2010.

Human trafficking: requires large retailers and manufacturers to publicly report what steps they take to make sure those providing their supplies and products are not engaging in slavery and human trafficking.

Infused drinks: allows bars to infuse alcohol with fruits and vegetables for use in cocktails.

Insurance: prohibits doctors, when treating workers’ compensation patients, from prescribing drugs in which they have a financial interest.

Iran:  mandates that the state’s pension boards divest their funds from companies that are part of the defense or nuclear industries in Iran.

Job applicants: bars employers from using credit reports in deciding whether to hire someone.

Labor: prohibits local officials from banning union labor agreements for publicly funded construction projects.

Lap-Bands: requires periodic inspections of outpatient surgery centers that perform Lap-Band operations and other procedures. The law is a response to the 2007 death of singer Kanye West’s mother after liposuction and breast augmentation surgery at a Westside clinic.

Libraries: restricts the privatization of public libraries by requiring that they continue to pay government-scale wages.

Lying politicians: forces elected officials to forfeit office if convicted of falsely claiming they have been awarded military decorations.

Marijuana: gives cities and counties clearer authority to regulate the location and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Another law creates new penalties for the possession of synthetic cannabis products, which have been sold in convenience stores and tobacco shops.

Maternity leave: requires employers to maintain and pay for health coverage while women are on maternity leave.

Medical consent: gives children 12 and older the authority to get medical care for the prevention of sexually transmitted disease, including the HPV vaccine, without parental consent.

Missing persons: requires law enforcement agencies to submit a missing persons report to the state attorney general when the person being sought is 21 or younger, a change from the current cutoff age of 16.

Needles: empowers cities and counties to allow pharmacists to furnish a customer with up to 30 hypodermic needles and syringes without a prescription. Another law permits the state Department of Public Health to allow select groups to provide hypodermic needles and syringe exchange services in any area where it determines that conditions exist for the rapid spread of HIV.

Presidential primary: moves the state’s presidential primary election from February to June and consolidates it with the statewide primary election to save $100 million.

Prison phones: makes it a crime for cell phones to be smuggled into state prisons and allows increased time behind bars for inmates caught with them.

Prostitution: imposes a special court fine of $25,000 on defendants convicted of prostitution involving a minor.

Protests: makes it a misdemeanor to create a disturbance on or next to an elementary or middle school campus where the action threatens the physical safety of students.

Puppies: outlaws the selling of live animals on any street, sidewalk, parking lot or other public right-of-way.

Raves: requires any state agency that plans an event with more than 10,000 people on state property to conduct a threat assessment before the event.

Recycling: establishes state policy that 75% of solid waste should be diverted from landfills to recycling and other processes by 2020.

Restaurants: may use up their supplies of shark fins — a delicacy in Chinese cooking — purchased before Jan. 1. After that, sale and possession of shark fins will be illegal.

Saving parks: allows nonprofits to take over the operation of state parks that otherwise would be closed because of budget problems.

Senior care: mandates that residential care facilities for the elderly notify residents within 10 days if the state determines that a serious health and safety violation occurred at the facility.

Sexual orientation: encourages state university systems to collect data on students’ sexual orientation and encourages the legislative analyst to use it to recommend improvements in the quality of life for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

Student government: authorizes illegal immigrants who are students to receive grants, fee waivers and reimbursement for serving in student government at public colleges.

Tax break: provides a tax credit to California farmers for the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables donated to California food banks.

Work rules: establishes an employee’s right to as many as three days of bereavement leave within three months following the death of a spouse, child, parent, grandchild, sibling or domestic partner.

Wine: provides a special permit that makes it easier for California firms to sell wine over the Internet, by phone or by direct mail.

Still unknown whether incumbent Third District Supervisor will run again

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

With face-offs already guaranteed for the other two Humboldt County Supervisor seats up for grabs in 2012, the Third District will now be a political battleground as well.

Arcata environmental activist Mark Lovelace, who has yet to decide whether he’ll run for a second term after his landslide victory in June 2008, has an extra factor to consider — Bayside businesswoman Karen Brooks, who made public this week her intention to run for the job.

“This mom, this business woman, this concerned citizen has decided that we can do better for the people of Humboldt County and I’m standing up to make your voice heard,” she wrote on her Facebook wall yesterday. “If you live in Manila, Arcata, Blue Lake, Kneeland, Bayside, Freshwater, northern Eureka and all points in-between I would represent you with no nonsense, real world leadership. I have a vision to bring our future back to our children and grandchildren…stay tuned!”

Brooks previously ran for State Assembly on the Republican ballot line as the only alternative to incumbent Wes Chesbro on the November 2010 ballot, scoring just over 38% against the entrenched Arcata Democrat who previously served as 3rd District Supervisor, as well as an Arcata City Councilmember and a twice-elected State Senator for the North Coast.

Humboldt County’s other two Supervisorial seats will also be contended in the June 2012 election — with a November run-off if no candidate scores above 50%. Incumbent Jimmy Smith’s First District Supervisor seat will see retired schoolteacher Annette De Modena face former Eureka City Council candidate Rex Bohn, while Second District Supervisor Clif Clendenen will once again share the ballot with former KMUD news director Estelle Fennel. More candidates may step forward, as the filing period won’t close for several weeks.

While never having served in elected office, Brooks was the Marketing Director for the North Coast Co-Op, and also is an active member of the Humboldt Tea Party Patriots; she even wrote a guest opinion column entitled “Patriots and prejudice — irrational hatred of the Tea Party” for the Times-Standard earlier this year. She’s a Humboldt State University alumnus and an active equestrian.

Her first campaign event will be a Pancake Breakfast meet and greet at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the D Street Neighborhood Center, just south of Humboldt State University in Arcata. While the breakfast is free, Brooks is asking attendees to bring two cans of food per person to help the local food bank — and she’s also asking for people to bring their own dishware to make it a zero waste event.

Brooks characterized the event as part of a “listening tour” in a press release earlier today, and says she intends to sound out issues and concerns from local residents in order to find sustainable solutions. For more information on her campaign, e-mail Brooks at brooksforsupervisor@gmail.com.

Here’s an excerpt from Planet Humboldt (produced by the Sentinel) of Brooks delivering comments at the 9/11 Commemoration held in Fortuna earlier this year:

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

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.

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.

County also moving forward on indoor cultivation limits

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

Due to increased pressure from the Feds, elected representatives froze the processing of permits for new medical marijuana dispensaries in Humboldt County.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously this afternoon to implement a 45-day moratorium on the processing of any new conditional use permits for medical marijuana collectives or cooperatives. This backtracking, after the Planning Commission issued permits for three dispensaries in Myrtletown and Garberville, was due in large part to the Pack vs. City of Long Beach ruling earlier this year, which held that local medical marijuana ordinances were preempted by federal drug laws.

US Attorney Laura Duffy shows off edible cannabis products for sale.

In light of threats by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco to litigate against local governments for engaging in activities legitimizing what the Feds see as drug trafficking and distribution, county legal staff warned that any attempt to implement long-planned regulations on the operations of cannabis dispensaries would expose Supervisors to direct prosecution.

“Many counties and cities are currently enacting moratoriums or are repealing [laws] that they have previously enacted, so we are in the middle of a somewhat furious response,” deputy county counsel Carolyn Ruth told Supervisors. “The lack of certainty over local regulatory power to permit these dispensaries really does create a serious risk to public health and safety.”

The moratorium puts on hold the Planning Department’s processing of eight permit applications — for what period of time as yet unclear. Supervisors have the option of returning to the issue in January with a ten-and-a-half month extension, although a degree of reticence was expressed at this prospect.

“Some of these actions today are really distasteful in my mind,” Second District Supervisor Clif Clendenen of Fortuna said. “We need to ask the federal authorities to explain what they’re doing here…we’re tipping backwards here with their help, I look forward to a brighter day, I’m willing to support this motion but I’m really hoping we can use our influences to move forward here.”

County staff assured prospective dispensary operators mid-way through their approval process that as their permit applications were considered to be “in suspense,” they wouldn’t lose their place in line, or their fees, once the moratorium was lifted. This wasn’t good enough for some industry advocates, including the Humboldt Growers Association.

“I understand that you have fear around the Pack decision…I realize the US Attorneys have been threatening you,” HGA outreach coordinator Alison Sterling Nichols said. “This is why we elected you, sometime you have to put yourselves on the line…we have an incredible industry that is hugely successful and you folks need to stand up.”

The issue will likely come up at the regular Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 24 — three days before this moratorium expires.

New indoor cultivation limits introduced

The other major item of debate this afternoon centered on the long-awaited introduction of revised regulations on the indoor cannabis cultivation taking place in private homes across unincorporated parts of the county.

Supervisors split 4-1 on carrying forward staff’s first alternative towards final approval next month, which will limit to 50 square feet the total indoor growing space — down from the current standard of 100 square feet. The other primary change will be to limit the number of grows per residence to only one — instead of the prior grow-per-card standard which allowed multiple medical marijuana patients to operate joint grows inside the same structure.

Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace of Arcata cast the dissenting vote, preferring a third alternative prepared by staff which would have created a two-tier system to allow 100-square-foot grows on parcels over an acre in size, so long as the grows were at least 50 feet from the nearest property line. Exercising this sort of discretion, legal staff warned, would re-invoke the same fears concerning the Pack decision where local jurisdictions were seen to be permitting something prohibited by federal law.

“We are saying if you exceed this [size], we will consider you a nuisance per se,” deputy county counsel Davina Smith said. “That’s the concern about going to 100 square feet, is that it might disproportionately impact neighbors.”

Adrienne Floreen

Raising eyebrows during public comment, McKinleyville resident Adrienne Floreen dropped baggies of cannabis bud on the podium, rattling off their sale price.

“Larger grows are necessary so people like me who don’t grow can get enough medication,” she said. “Please do not regulate away dispensaries and growers or you will regulate away the ability of people like me to get medical marijuana.”

The Supervisors’ decision was bound to disappoint Carla Ritter, who founded one of the first medical dispensaries in Arcata and now operates one on county territory — she testified that copycatting the limits in Arcata and Eureka would be inappropriate for the rural, dispersed populations in unincorporated lands.

“This restrictive ordinance could force many more patients to attempt to grow for themselves,” Ritter said. “Let things stand, at least until the smoke clears.”

According to a survey of patients at her dispensary, Ritter said 75% of local medical marijuana patients do not grow themselves. This and other public testimony leaning heavily towards a lighter touch to regulations wasn’t enough to sway First District Supervisor Jimmy Smith, who made the motion to introduce the ordinance.

“When we started down this pathway…it was because of home invasions, it was because of officer vehicle chases and we had some very serious crimes, it was based on foster parents and the stories they told me time after time,” he said. “People have taken advantage of the system.”

One complication to the extremely small grow space permitted under the new ordinance is the two-room cultivation system, where a ‘mother’ plant is maintained separately in a vegetative state from the plants being readied for harvest in a flowering or bloom cycle. Clendenen asked Community Development Services Director Kirk Girard if a cover could be put up to divide areas of a single room.

“You’re probably exceeding my expertise,” Girard quipped.

A medical grower came up to the podium to inform Clendenen that a single speck of artificial light would throw the plants off their natural cycle and make them useless.

Despite his split from the rest of the Board on the matter, Lovelace thanked staff for their work in turning around Supervisors’ recommendations into a final draft in a months’ time.

“What we’re essentially saying is that someone who’s growing 50 feet or less is presumed to not be a nuisance,” he said. “Just because you’re less than 50 feet doesn’t mean you have card blanc to annoy your neighbors.”

An outdoor marijuana grow.Courtesy Humboldt Growers Association.

Final adoption of the indoor cultivation ordinance is set for Jan. 3, the same day on which Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass of Eureka will take the reigns as Chair of the Board. The following months will see a move into Phase Two, where the Planning Commission and eventually the Supes will take on the thornier issues concerning outdoor cultivation limits.

Meanwhile, the Pack decision is already being appealed to the California Supreme Court by the City of Long Beach. Their move is supported by a coalition including the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access, the Drug Policy Alliance and the County of Santa Cruz; they’re also seeking outright depublication of the Second District Court of Appeals decision, which contradicts three other appellate court decisions.

$2.5 million to upgrade Highway 101 around Smith River

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The main transportation artery of the North Coast is getting some safety improvements thanks to the United States Department of Transportation.

Today, Congressional Representative Mike Thompson (Dem. – St. Helena) announced the awarding of a $2.5 million grant through the DOTs Tiger III program to the Smith River Rancheria of Del Norte County. These funds will be used to make roadway safety improvements along Highway 101.

“This grant will improve our road safety and strengthen our economy by putting people back to work renovating out-of-date infrastructure,” Thompson stated in a release. “Anyone who has driven along Highway 101 through the Rancheria knows these improvements are long overdue, and I will keep fighting for these smart investments that rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, create jobs, and most important, keeps people safe.”

According to Thompson’s Communications Director, Austin Vevurka, these upgrades will reduce traffic-related injuries by improving walking and bicycling safety along 1.3 miles of the highway within the ancestral lands of the Smith River Rancheria; these will include stamped shoulder treatments, new signage and lighting to promote traffic calming.

Tribal Chair Kara Brundin-Miller

“We are so happy and excited about this announcement,” Smith River tribal chair Kara Brundin-Miller stated. “We view the tribe as a key part of this community and we believe this grant will help make this highway safer for everyone. We express our thanks to Congressman Thompson for his tireless efforts on behalf of this project.”

This project was the fruit of a year-long regional planning process between the tribe, the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans and the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission — the first of its kind between a Native American tribe with DOT.

Construction is expected to commence in the coming months, as funding has already started to be dispensed to the Rancheria by Caltrans.

The Smith River Rancheria, one of the homes of the Tolowa Tribe, was originally established in 1908, and has grown to more than 500 acres in territory. Many of its 1,200 members live in southern Oregon and northern California, and the section of Highway 101 to be improved runs through the heart of the Rancheria, in close proximity to the tribe’s medical clinic, Head Start facility, cultural center and other heavily visited areas. The grantmakers hope these highway improvements will increase economic opportunity in the region.

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.

Financial difficulties, interference by Arcata officials contribute to collapse

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

After nearly a decade of struggle with City of Arcata elected officials, police and bureaucrats over how best to handle issues of homelessness, the North Coast Resource Center may have reached the end of its rope.

A notice plastered on the door of the NCRC office at the Arcata Service Center informed the public that all services will be suspended as of Dec. 31.

“We are working on setting up an alternate food pantry that will serve Arcata in January,” the notice read. “We will have more information available soon. We at NCRC are making every effort to resume services as quickly as possible.”

Their Executive Director, John Shelter, did not respond to inquiries as of 11 p.m. tonight, but the Sentinel was able to reach Anne Holcomb, executive director of Food For People, which runs Humboldt County’s largest food pantry in midtown Eureka. She said FFP was informed by NCRC that they were dealing with financial difficulties and would close temporarily, for a month or more, to deal with them.

“We’re trying to develop alternative options for the people they’re serving so they don’t go without — we’re in the process right now of trying to find temporary alternative locations in Arcata,” Holcomb said in an interview this evening. “We know the cost of gas to drive from Arcata to Eureka or even bus fare can be prohibitive…we’re committed to assuring people that food pantry services continue for Arcata residents.”

She didn’t want to speculate on the reasons behind the collapse of NCRCs finances, but sympathized with the situation of humanitarian non-profit charities in general as giving has declined in an environment of economic crisis.

“It’s really unfortunate,” Holcomb said. “I’m not sure exactly what the problems are in Arcata. I think there needs to be a collaborative organization that needs to spearhead that and I gather the North Coast Resource Center just does not have the staffing resources to do that.”

NCRC evolved from the Arcata Endeavor, which has served homeless and poor people in the greater Arcata area since the 1990s with food, showers, laundry, job referral help and case management services.

The NCRCs federal grant funding dried up a few years ago due to the lack of “site control” when a newly elected Arcata City Council refused to extend their lease on the Arcata Service Center, located in between the Intermodal Transit Facility and the Arcata Ballpark in the densely populated downtown area. This led to a tense series of public hearings and lawsuits, and while the NCRC eventually got its lease extension, the damage had been done in terms of undermining its ability to operate fully staffed.

Most recently, the longstanding project of an Extreme Weather Shelter for Arcata was ended after City Hall bureaucrats threw up roadblocks against the use of area churches to house homeless people during nightime conditions with sub-freezing temperatures and/or heavy storms. Ironically, this same project has been launched in Eureka with widespread support from city officials and the business community there; similarly, the NCRC New Directions program of providing non-violent clean-up services directed towards homeless encampments has garnered Eureka’s support at the same time as Arcata has slammed the door on working with the NCRC.

All these controversies have taken their toll on NCRC volunteers, too; their Board of Directors has several long-standing vacancies, and most staff had already been laid off. Shelter himself served for several months last year as Executive Director without compensation.

Shelter sat down for an hour-long episode of Sentinel Interviews on Jan. 12 to discuss the work of the NCRC in local communities.

“Not in response to the Occupy movement,” officials claim

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

Arcata city officials are set to redefine camping in a manner which critics say will further restrict Constitutional rights to assemble and protest against the government.

City Attorney Nancy Diamond presented to the City Council this evening a set of amendments to the parks and grounds chapter of Arcata’s municipal codes concerning public property. They particularly define city parks, city buildings and city-owned grounds as places where camping is illegal — as opposed to the generic “public grounds” — and expands to an entire paragraph the details of what constitutes “sleeping activities or making preparations to sleep.”

Diamond, Arcata Police Department chief Tom Chapman, and city manager Randy Mendosa (the former police chief) all emphatically denied any connection between these newly drafted laws and the Occupy movement, which had its Occupy Arcata iteration set up successive encampments at the Arcata Plaza, Arcata City Hall and now at an undisclosed location in the Community Forest.

Yet none of the public speakers on the agenda item were buying their explanations.

“What did bring this on? Am I right to think maybe it had something to do with the camping that was going on for the last couple of months?” asked ex-Councilmember Dave Meserve. “This is very clearly language that is meant to target the activities of the Occupy movement.”

Meserve, who helped lead the charge to coordinate the disparate local encampments and protests under the banner of Occupy Humboldt County in the last two weeks, accused his former colleagues of hypocrisy — the Council had passed a resolution only last month which specifically expressed support for the Occupy Wall Street movement nationally and Occupy Arcata in particular.

“There is this income inequality in this country and the one percent are controlling this country through the government to do that…and now we see all these cities kicking them out…people are being moved out from their occupations, from their tent cities, and what was the power of this movement, the power of their message, was the ability to occupy public space,” he said. “I find it inconsistent, I find it reactive, I find it whittles away at the First Amendment.”

Councilmember Shane Brinton, who managed Meserve’s doomed 2010 attempt to regain a seat on the City Council, backed his play, invoking basic human rights at the same meeting where they unanimously recognized December as Human Rights Awareness Month.

“I don’t know if tents are First Amendment speech or not, that’s a bit above my pay grade, but I know that everyone in the world has to sleep,” Brinton said.

Diamond retorted that the language was based on federal regulations, and was only intended to clarify existing law.

“It’s providing more specific guidance so there’s less room for abuse,” she said. “It’s something that should be viewed as taking away potential discretion by law enforcement officers on the ground…it’s not to tighten down the rules or eliminate any particular uses now, but to provide more specific notice.

Mendosa backed her play, and defended the actions of the APD which he used to lead.

“The staff’s been working on this long before we knew about the Occupy movement,” he said.

Brinton went on to quiz Chapman on when and where the use of a blanket in public would legally constitute camping, leading to a surreal exchange with the police chief imagining different scenarios.

“Are you on the Plaza under a blanket? Hard to say, it would depend,” Chapman asked and answered himself. “Is it three in the morning, it probably would. At two in the afternoon, probably not.”

Councilmembers voted 4-1 to introduce the ordinance, with Brinton dissenting. As the regularly scheduled Council meeting for Dec. 21 has been cancelled, final adoption will have to wait until Jan. 4.

• Key parts of the City of Arcata’s proposed Ordinance 1412 (strikethroughs are deletions, bold-italics are additions to current law):

SEC. 10000. City parks, buildings and grounds.

Such land or structures All parks, buildings and grounds within the Arcata limits owned by City of Arcata shall be designated as a city park, building or ground by resolution of the City Council shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter.

SEC. 10004. Overnight use prohibited.

There is to shall be no camping on or in public groundsCity parks, buildings and grounds, nor overnight use of public grounds or publicCity parks, buildings and grounds unless specifically authorized by the City Manager or her/his designee. “Camping” is defined as temporarily living or occupying an area in the outdoorsthe use of public parks, buildings or grounds for living accommodation purposes such as sleeping activities, or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping), or storing personal belongings, or making any fire, or using any tents or shelter or other structure or vehicle for sleeping, or doing any digging, or earth breaking, or carrying on cooking activities. The above listed activities constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting these activities, are in fact using the area as a living accommodation regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may also be engaging.

SEC. 10006. Regulation of certain use of public parks, buildings and grounds
prohibited without permission.

A. No individual or group may use public City parks, buildings or grounds under the following circumstances without first obtaining a permit from the City Manager or her/his designee, except for normal leisure and recreational use of City grounds when such use does not preclude or discourage similar use by others:.
1. When an activity or event is advertised to the general public in advance; or
2. When an individual or group charges a fee to attend or participate in an activity or event; or
3. When an activity or event by an individual or group precludes or discourages the simultaneous non-permitted use of that facility by other members of the public.

…

SEC. 10011. Duty of the City Manager to administer parks, buildings and grounds.

…

B. To the extent permitted by law, the City Manager may deny an application for a permit to use a City park, building or ground if the applicant or person on whose behalf the application for a permit was made has on prior occasions made material misrepresentations regarding the nature or scope of an event or activity previously permitted or has violated the terms of a prior permit issued on behalf of the applicant. The City Manager may also deny an application for a permit to use a City park, building or ground for any of the following reasons:
1. The application for a permit (including any required attachments and submissions) is not fully completed or executed;
2. The applicant has not tendered the required application fee with the application or has not tendered the required special activity event fees, insurance certificate or deposit within the times prescribed by the City Manager;
3. The application for a permit contains a material falsehood or misrepresentation;
4. The applicant is legally incompetent to contract or to sue and be sued;
5. The applicant or the person on whose behalf the application for a permit was made has on prior occasions damaged City property and has not paid in full for such damage, or has other outstanding and unpaid debts to the City;
6. A fully executed prior application for a permit for the same time and place has been received, and a permit has been or will be granted to a prior applicant authorizing uses or activities which do not reasonably permit multiple occupancy of the particular park, building or ground, or part thereof;
7. The use or activity intended by the application would conflict with previously planned programs organized and conducted by the City and previously scheduled for the same time and place;
8. The proposed use or activity is prohibited by or inconsistent with the classifications and uses of the park, building or ground, or part thereof designated pursuant to this Title or City Council regulation adopted in accordance with this Title.
9. The use or activity intended by the applicant would present a danger to the health or safety of the applicant, or other users of the park, building or ground, or City employees or the public;
10. The applicant has not complied or cannot comply with applicable licensure or permit requirements, ordinances or regulations of the City, Arcata Fire Protection District, County and State concerning the sale or offering for sale of any goods or services, recycling and waste diversion and erection of temporary structures;
11. The use or activity intended by the applicant is prohibited by local, state or federal law or regulation.

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

Key positions remain unfilled across County after uncontested elections

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

Special districts across Humboldt County are looking for volunteers to guide their ongoing governance.

Though several local races attracted the turnout of anywhere from a fifth to more than half of registered voters in various communities, voters in many special districts lacked not only choices on the ballot, but even a single volunteer willing to serve.

The problem is especially acute in Southern Humboldt, where 9 positions on the boards of six special districts went without anyone filing to fill them in the 2011 election round.

“I realize there’s a little homework to do there…particularly in my district,” Second District Supervisor Clif Clendenen said.

Oddly, the attached report provided to Supervisors also listed the Ferndale Fire Protection District as part of Clendenen’s jurisdiction — Ferndale itself is firmly within the First District represented by Jimmy Smith.

In certifying the appointment of 51 local residents who filed to run for offices for which they had no competitors, the Board of Supervisors last week acknowledged their dedication to serve in many unsung positions.

Most notably, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District saw the defacto re-election of fisheries biologist Pat Higgins to a second four-year term from the northerly Fifth District, along with the automatic succession of Aaron Newman in the First District and Phillip Dale in the Second District to fill seats held by retiring commissioners Ronnie Pellegrini and Roy Curless, respectively.

At the behest of Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich, 24 other applicants whose names were forwarded by 14 various community services, fire, water and conservation districts were also appointed.

“Being a boardmember at this point in time in our current economic situation means that you are the ones, they are the ones who have taken the responsibility of making very difficult decisions for their communities,” Crnich said.

She also noted that some of the very small districts save a significant portion of their equally tiny budgets by not having to pay her office to run their election.

Most rudderless at present is the aforementioned Ferndale Fire, where three of the five seats are going unfilled, the same situation faced by the Alderpoint County Water District. Telegraph Ridge Fire Protection is missing two directors, with other Southern Humboldt communities represented by Briceland Community Services District, Redway Community Services District, Myers Flat Fire Protection District and Garberville Sanitary District all have an empty seat on their boards.

On the other side of the county in the Fifth District, the Blue Lake Fire Protection District and the Big Lagoon Community Services District are each short a director, as is the Kneeland Fire Protection District in the center of the county.

Billboard and gravel mine issues back up at bat

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The Humboldt County Planning Commission could be looking at new leadership in 2012 as its final permits hearing of the year approaches on Thursday.

Mary Gearheart, who took over the Chair position from Jeffrey C. Smith upon his retirement from the commission late last year, will quite possibly face a challenger — since three of the seven commissioners only joined up this year. While neither Linda Disiere, Susan Masten or David Edmonds have publicly announced their intentions, the three have formed a pro-developer voting block on several key issues in the General Plan update process.

The Vice Chair spot will also be up for a vote — this position has been held for the last year by former Coastal Commission staff attorney Ralph Faust of Arcata, the most vocal advocate of environmentally-minded planning decisions on the commission.

Two contentious issues will also get a re-hearing by the Planning Commission on Dec. 1. The proposal to re-build two billboards on Highway 101 south of Fortuna by Stott Outdoor Advertising will get a re-hash due to a case of procedural confusion by the Planning Commission. A rare tie vote on Oct. 6, created by the absence of three commissioners, resulted in a defacto denial of their permit that didn’t specify the reasons for commissioners to reject the application. Some commissioners were dead-set against allowing billboards on what they described as a scenic highway, while others noted the requests of businesses such as Eel River Brewing Company for the restoration of the advertising signs they previously purchased the use of.

The case of Eureka Ready Mix’s application to continue using the Hauck Gravel Bar on the Eel River to mine gravel is also back up for another chew. While the operations of the mine didn’t attract public scorn at the prior Planning Commission hearing, river access, or the lack thereof, by local fishermen and ecotourists alike spurred the concern of commissioners.

The Planning Commission hearing will start at 6 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Chambers in the Humboldt County Courthouse. For more information, visit http://co.humboldt.ca.us/planning/commission/.

Assault on UC Davis ‘Occupy’ protesters calls on-campus policing into question

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

THE SITUATION
The video footage of Lt. John Pike clad in riot gear casually spraying pepper spray at the heads of student UC Davis Occupy protesters sitting peacefully on the ground has sparked national outrage since it began circulating online last week, having nearly 2 million YouTube hits since Friday. Students gathered on campus for a second time on Tuesday to condemn the violence, urging university officials to require police to attend sensitivity training, seek more student representation, and review policies concerning student protests. The student government passed a resolution calling on the State Attorney General’s Office to investigate campus police misconduct.

As the controversy over the spraying incident grows and with the video having gone viral, images of the UCPD officer involved, Lieutenant John Pike, have become the subject of popular websites featuring his picture superimposed on famous paintings and pepper spraying famous figures from Gandhi to John F. Kennedy to actress Julie Andrews. Over the weekend, the hacker group Anonymous, which is affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, posted on its website Pike’s phone number and personal details about his home residence.

On Tuesday, about 50 tents formed an encampment on the campus site where the pepper-spraying happened as students went to class. University of California Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi showed up unexpectedly and asked to address students and occupiers during their general assembly meeting but left after waiting 30 minutes for an opportunity to speak.

Lt. John Pike

THE OFFICER

Lt. John Pike, another officer, and the campus police chief have been placed on paid administrative leave following the pepper spray incident and the resulting public outcry. Pike is a retired 39 year-old Marine sergeant who has been honored twice for his campus police work but also figured prominently in a discrimination lawsuit against the university. Rising swiftly through the ranks of the UC Davis police force over the last decades, he is one of four lieutenants on the campus supervising more a third of the sworn officers. He reportedly earns more than $110,000 per year in salary.

In 2003, two years after joining the campus police force, Pike received a meritorious service award for using his patrol car to bump a suspect’s vehicle onto a local highway ramp and stopping the man from driving the wrong way. In 2006, he tackled a scissor-wielding hospital patient threatening fellow officers. Pike saw the scissors-wielding patient try to assault an officer and landed “a body block, powering his left shoulder” into her. He decided against using pepper spray because it might harm his colleagues or other hospital patients, he said afterwards. “You’ve got all these tools on your belt but sometimes they’re not the best tools,” Pike said at the time.

An alleged anti-gay slur by Pike in 2008 resulted in a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former police officer against the department, ending in a $240,000 settlement. Officer Calvin Chang’s 2003 discrimination complaint against the university’s police chief and the UC Board of Regents claimed he was systematically ‘marginalized’ as the result of anti-gay and racist attitudes on the force. Chang specifically alleged Pike used profane anti-gay slurs describing him.

Pike has made no comment on the pepper spray situation and it is unknown whether he has retained legal counsel regarding the matter.

THE CHANCELLOR

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, center, is escorted to her car after addressing Occupy demonstrators on Monday.

“I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs. It was the absolute last thing I ever wanted to happen,” UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said during a town hall meeting Tuesday night.

She told an auditorium filled with more than 1,000 students that she asked police to remove tents from the university’s quad but did not direct them to forcibly remove the demonstrators, stressing that students have a right to demonstrate peacefully. “Because encampments have long been prohibited by UC policy, I directed police only to take down the tents,” she said. “My instructions were for no arrests and no police force.”

Katehi has asked the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to investigate. Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven confirmed Tuesday that his department will look into the matter.

Both the UC Davis English and Physics Departments have called for Katehi’s immediate resignation expressing the “lack of confidence and leadership over the outrageous, unnecessary, and brutal pepper spraying episode on Friday, November 18.”

THE FOLLOW UP
State lawmakers announced Tuesday they would hold a hearing on the pepper-spraying incident. California Assembly Speaker John Perez sent a letter to the University of California Board of Regents chairwoman Sherry Lansing and UC President Mark Yudof asking for a system-wide investigation.

Yudof later announced he had appointed former Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton to review the UC Davis incident and provide an independent, unvarnished report about what happened in 30 days. He also appointed the university’s general counsel and the UC Berkeley law school dean to examine police protocols and policies at all 10 UC campuses, including discussions with students, faculty and staff.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris was reportedly deeply disturbed by the videos of the incident, according to spokeswoman Lynda Gledhill on Tuesday. “She’s confident they will conduct a quick and thorough investigation of the matter,” Gledhill said.

Student government leaders on campus condemned the use of pepper spray on student protesters and called for Katehi to resign if she fails to enact reforms.

“Major reforms are needed because regardless of whoever is fired or resigns, it won’t mean anything if we don’t change policy and the way our institutions are run,” Adam Thongsavat, president of the Associated Students of the University of California, Davis, said in an interview. “That’s what’s going to affect students and campus policy and bring awareness.”

Dieter Dammeier, an Upland lawyer for the Federated University Police Officers Association representing the union of UC Davis officers, said the policies and procedures issued by the department includes the use of pepper spray. “The officers were doing simply what they were instructed to do by upper management there,” Dammeier said, referring to the police operation plans. “So the officers are getting beat up pretty good out there, but they were simply doing what they were instructed to do.”

Jeff Kravitz, a constitutional rights attorney, disagreed. Kravitz sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris urging either the immediate arrest of the officers involved or bringing the matter before a Grand Jury for violation of federal and state laws.

“Physical attacks on persons violate California Penal Code 242 (Battery) and such violence perpetrated by those in uniform is a criminal violation of Federal civil rights law 18 USC 242. It is imperative that proper action be taken by the County, State and Federal authorities. Leaving the matter solely in the hands of the University is not a reasonable option,” Kravitz said.

THE VIDEO FOOTAGE, IN THE RARE CHANCE YOU MISSED IT

THE PHOTOSHOPPED MEME
Can be found here.

LOCAL BLOGS SPOT ON TOPIC
Fred’s Blog
Redheaded Blackbelt
Sohum Parlance II
Humboldt Herald
Ernie’s blog
Early Morning Fog, Partial Clearing

(Information for this article was sourced from the IndyBay.org news, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Associated Press, YouTube, and the local Humboldt blogosphere.)

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.

Prior move from Plaza to City Hall apparently not far enough

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

These may be the last days of ‘Occupy Arcata’ as city officials ready themselves to “expend limited public resources” to rid the front lawn of City Hall of the sprawling encampment.

Arcata police chief Tom Chapman served notice on the protesters earlier today, and while no deadline was contained therein, his letter contained numerous allegations of lawbreaking by people at the Occupy camp which he said could no longer be suffered by city employees or local residents.

“Specific acts include the open use of drugs, the sales of drugs, consumption of alcohol, public intoxication, loose dogs, assault and battery, the illegal discharge of a BB gun, the shooting of a citizen with a BB gun, urination and defecation on public property, repeated smoking within 20 feet of the building, loud profane language in the presence of children visiting the recreation department, blocking disability access to City Hall, theft of property, and a disruption of City services,” Champan stated in his letter.

Chapman had previously worked with Occupy Arcata organizers to move their protest site from the Plaza to City Hall due to numerous complaints from merchants — yet promised access to the City Hall restroom facilities appears not to have materialized.

“Within five feet of the entrance to the recreation department the cement is saturated with urine,” he went on to state. “It has attracted flies and the stench is horrid. This entrance is used by many community members with their children to sign up for recreational programs the City sponsors. The encampment at City Hall has become a public health hazard.”

Several of the well-known demonstrators at ‘Occupy Arcata’ appeared at this evening’s Arcata City Council meeting, vowing to continue their protest and stand up to what they claim is intimidation and official oppression, including “Recon” Rick Shreve and Geronimo Garcia, recent last-place finisher in the Manila Community Services District race and two-time former Council candidate. Other Occupy-ers read statements from military veterans and invoked their elected representatives to “stand up for the 99 percent” and support their movement.

Mayor Susan Ornelas was unmoved by their appeals and at one point had to ask Garcia to cease interrupting the proceedings. She said the demonstrators were welcome to continue their protest, but that camping had nothing to do with the rights of free speech and free assembly.

“This isn’t an eviction notice,” Ornelas said.

The other Councilmembers, who Occupy protesters claim had ignored their demonstration, said nothing in response to their statements during Oral Communications.

Even some supporters of the Occupy movement, much as with its Eureka iteration, have taken issue with the infiltration of criminal elements into Occupy Arcata. Their Facebook page has been seized by one administrator, going by the name of “Trish Ti,” who has closed off access by other organizers while denouncing the unauthorized use of a Twitter account named “Occupy Arcata” because they were “being negative.” Others have denounced the lack of security at the encampment.

“Arcata needs to clean up it’s act if it continues to occupy,” Occupy Arcata supporter Rachelle Irby said. “We need to be clean, safe, and not be using drugs or other inappropriate activity. OWS has a no tolerance policy and so should Arcata. I support you and I hope that the GA’s can resolve the issues cited in the letter.”

 For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

VETERANS DAY EVENTS: The Eureka Veterans Day Program presented by the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka will honor veterans of all branches of the armed forces on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium, 1120 F St. Arcata will have a 5K Run/Walk hosted by the Veterans Enrollment and Transition Services Department and the Student Veterans Association Club will take place Friday in the Redwood Bowl at Humboldt State University at 11am. Fortuna’s Salute to Veterans is Friday starting at 2 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1426 Main Street, Fortuna. Honor Our Veterans will be presented by Sequoia Springs Assisted Living Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Sequoia Springs, 2401 Redwood Way, in Fortuna, too. The Hoopa Valley Tribe will be honoring veterans on Friday in front of the Hoopa Neighborhood Facilities Building at 11am. Please thank our veterans, love our country, and fly your flag high, folks.

FUNNY MONEY AND 101 SAFETY CORRIDOR FENDER BENDERS: Now you see it, now you don’t. The Board of Supervisors, the Eureka City Council, and the Humboldt County Association of Governments are grappling with the big $23 million Caltrans allotment price tag for the the larger plans of improving Highway 101 between Eureka and Arcata. Yes, it’s a headache for all concerned with many hours of discussions and wrangling set for the future. We’re not so sure it will come together like a fine Swiss watch running faster than the morning commute with so many municipal players wanting their piece of the fiscal pie kept intact.

FISKARS TRIMMERS, TITANS, AND THE LONG ARM OF THE CLAW: Kym Kemp brings us the glaring inconsistency of District Attorney Paul Gallegos seemingly new enforcement slant going after the cannabis trimmers while organizing kingpin Stanislaw Kopiej goes free. Kopiej’s massive $1 million Hydesville marijuana bust and subsequent probation-only plea bargain lies in stark contrast to his bud tending female trimmers getting subsequently soaked and hammered by the DA’s office. He’s free on bail while the trim ladies languish in the 5th Street Salmon Slammer. Birds of a tether do time together, per the iniquitously wobbly scales of justice and Paul Gallegos.

POOP AND PEE GO NATIONAL: Yes, Humboldt is known for towering redwoods, fresh air and clean water, pastoral views and its clandestine marijuana industry. And something else. The infamous Poop and Pee report erupted the local blogosphere wide open with projectile force as the Betsy Lambert/KIEM-TV video goes viral in reaching new heights of in-depth investigative reporting. Only in Humboldt would there an animated cartoon and a soulful ballad appoopriately memorializing this pseudo-historical potty event. Please people, make it go away. Far, far away. Can’t we just find our happy place behind the redwood curtain? Stall? Porta-potty? US Bank?

EMBATTLED ELECTION IMBROGLIO: Elections are rarely sexy and Tuesday’s turnout was true to form. As reported in Wednesday’s Sentinel, the votes are tallied. Incumbent Judy Anderson (42%) soundly lost to newcomer Susan Johnson (57.5%) bidding for Eureka City Schools Trustee and following her televised debate no-show last month. Note to self: simply show up before stiffing an informed electorate– even if only 21% of the voters cast ballots. Notably outspoken citizen regulator, fiscal conservative, and depending who you speak to civil advocate or civic critic David Elsebusch was trounced garnering a slim 14.9% of the vote for McKinleyville’s Community Services District. Arcata’s uniquely original and freewheeling thinker Geronimo Garcia went down in flames with only 4% for Manila Community Services District Director. Security National’s right hand front man and incumbent Brian Mitchell secured one of the two positions for McKinleyville Union School District with a respectable 33.5%. Measure U squeaked through with 52.3% of voter approval for the fiscal consolidation of two Fortuna school districts. Thus far no recounts have been demanded.

STUNNING SCHOOL STATS: The Humboldt County Office of Education Healthy Kids two-year report brings some striking news. 22% of Humboldt County 9th graders currently use marijuana regularly while 29% use alcohol. These figures bump up respectively to 26% and 42% by 11th grade; 37% and 60% if enrolled in an alternative education school. 7% of 9th graders currently smoke tobacco, increasing to 12% by 11th grade. Students in an alternative education setting see 45% smoking. Safety concerns? 5% of 5th graders brought a knife or gun to school. Gang affiliation? 8-9% of 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade students considered themselves a member of a gang.

JUST TOO CUTE: Sequoia Humane Society’s Most Wanted. For those looking to take home a loyal companion there’s also Miranda’s Rescue and the Humboldt County Animal Shelter for some very adorably adoptable pets. My goodness.

JUST TOO UGLY: Eureka Police Department’s Most Wanted. Curiously enough, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t seem to want anyone– as evidenced here.

‘BELIEVE IT OR NOT’ MEETS ‘ALL THE NEWS THAT FIT TO PRINT’: Or, Robert Ripley meets Ben Bradlee in Dave Stancliff’s amusing and colorful As It Stands column of various sundry laundry items culled from around the planet. Whether it’s Satanic sex stabbings, Britain’s rubber bullets for riotous acts, innocent children locked, loaded, and spun in Wascomat washing machines or the attack of the 50 foot woman, you’ll find it all here and the kitchen sink under Dave’s watchful muse and editorial eye. Dave is also a veteran and currently running for the position of POTUS.

LAST SNIPPETS, RUMORS AND HEARSAY MURMERS:

Humboldt County’s Drug Task Force was informed last week that it will no longer be financially supported by the State Department of Justice—an approximate $213,000 blow to the county’s efforts to curb illegal drug use and sales.

Following the vandalism at Ferndale High School, a car crash, and the three teens involved, the stolen Milk Can Trophy was finally recovered from the woods by the Fortuna Police Department and returned back to its rightful winner.

Humboldt County and the City of Eureka have been trying to organize a temporary winter shelter for the homeless with too much discussion, differing opinions, and numerous emails flying about. Consensus is difficult to reach largely due to the 3 homeless advocates muddying up the waters in addition to Old Town businesses nixing any such idea in their neighborhood. Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith and Eureka City Councilman Mike Newman have been working tirelessly bringing all parties at the table towards agreement in providing humane solutions and a temporary shelter before temps dip lower come the holidays. Sources indicate the District Attorney’s office and Paul Gallegos have also been trying to resolve the otherwise cold situation. Birds under the weather stay warm together.

One Humboldt town may be growing smarter with their proposed Rio Dell Plaza in the works. Acting as its own developer, the city of Rio Dell is looking at building a large grocery store, 2 motels, a gas station, restaurants, civic buildings, and public space on 20 acres to draw traffic and tourists off the 101 and thwart a 16% unemployment rate.

The City of Arcata, Susan Ornelas, APD, and Kevin Hoover would certainly like to see something done differently for Halloween next year.

Arcata police have been fairly busy this week busting grows: one on Wednesday followed by the other on Thursday.

It’s been a rough week in Arcata, friends. You know it’s bad when our previously mentioned uniquely original and freewheeling thinker Geronimo Garcia gets shot with a BB gun and suffers a stunning electoral loss at the same time.

HUMBOLDT ENTERTAINMENT AND WEEKEND EVENTS:

Cannabis happenings sighted in SoHum: Hemp Fest and Mary Jane: The Musical are around Redway-Town and the Mateel.

Friday November 11

Saturday November 12

Sunday November 13

Thank you, Veterans, for your service.

Attempt to overturn FCC rules defeated in US Senate

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Local public access media advocates are thrilled with a vote yesterday which halted an attempt by telecom giants to wipe out guarantees of net neutrality.

The United States Senate defeated a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would have overturned Federal Communications Commission rules to protect the Open Internet by preventing Internet service providers from discriminating between different media outlets.

“Access Humboldt applauds our US Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, especially Barbara Boxer who has been a steady champion on the Commerce Committee, for their action yesterday to defeat a misguided effort to close the Internet,” Access Humboldt executive director Sean McLaughlin stated in a release. “While public interests won the day, it is noteworthy that forty-six United States Senators actually voted in favor of unfettered corporate control over the Internet!”

The FCC continues to haggle over whether net neutrality rules also apply to wireless Internet services the same way they do to traditional phone and cable ISPs.

“The amount of misinformation presented by the opponents of an open internet was truly frightening and demands accountability,” McLaughlin stated. “Clearly, protecting freedom of information and expression will continue to require our eternal vigilance.”

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.

Congressman Thompson announces new funding from USDA Bioenergy Program

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Federal funding is set to help one local firm expand their production of advanced biofuel.

Yokayo Biofuels of Ukiah is to receive more than $24,000 in rural development funds, according to a release today from Congressman Mike Thompson (Dem. – St. Helena).

“Yokayo Biofuels is a model of how green businesses can grow our economy,” Thompson stated. “Not only are biofuels good for our environment, growing the biofuel industry will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and spur green job creation.”

Yokayo uses vegetable oil as feedstock for its biodiesel — a requirement to be eligible under the Bioenerg Program for Advanced Biofuels, which is administered by the USDA. Yokayo also landed a $110,000 grant from the USDA last month for Biodiesel Trans Esterificaiton, which is a process of transforming grease into fuel.

“2010 was a rough year for biodiesel, but thanks to increased funding from government agencies this year, including this grant from the USDA, Yokayo Biofuels has been able to increase its staff from ten to eighteen employees, and is well-positioned to continue growing.” Yokayo CEO Kumar Plocher stated.

Thompson lauded these investments to build a biofuels industry that grows a green economy and reduces the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Student representation to be reduced to two non-directly elected senators

By Paul Mann
HSU Now

With the beginning of the spring semester, a new University Senate will replace the Academic Senate as the university’s main policy recommending body.

In a notable change, voting rights will be extended to all members of the University Senate, including two student senators chosen by Associated Students, with the exception of the University President, California Faculty Association president and the Union Council delegate. “The new senate will be a smaller body, but it will have broader representation from campus,” said Provost Robert Snyder. The new senate will be made up of 11 faculty senators, two students, three lecturers and three non–Management Personnel Plan staff members.

The senate’s primary duty is formulating educational policy, including admissions, curricula and criteria for granting degrees. The senate is also involved with the selection of administrative personnel and in the selection of future university presidents. Other duties include maintaining communication to campus delegates and establishing senate committees.

In an effort to encourage more participation in the senate, members’ terms are limited to three years and a senator may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Approximately one third of the membership will be elected annually to ensure a mix of new and experienced senators.

The formation of the university senate comes from a recommendation in the Cabinet for Institutional Change’s 2010 report, Building the Capacity for Change: Improving the Structure and Culture of Decision-making at HSU.

“We hope the University Senate will lead to a better sense of communal decision making with all stake holders involved,” said Jay Verlinden, chair of the Department of Communication and current president of the Academic Senate.

In April, the Academic Senate Executive Committee charged the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) to develop a written proposal for a University Senate structure. Using the university senate model from San Diego State as well as reviewing the current HSU General Faculty Constitution and Senate Bylaws, the FAC drafted new portions of the Constitution and Bylaws, which were approved by the General Faculty in September.

In addition to broader campus representation, the new senate is designed with a streamlined decision making processes. Senators will be required to serve on at least one senate committee, a policy aimed at involving senators at the beginning stages of policy development.

The new University Senate has its first meeting in January. For more information on the Academic Senate visit humboldt.edu/senate

For more information on the Cabinet for Institutional Change, visit change.humboldt.edu/change.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

YOU KNEW THE BIG NEWS: Humboldt County Sheriff Officers mounted an impressive bust last week in Bridgeville and Hydesville… finding 600 pounds of dried marijuana, more than $200,000 in cash, arresting 10 suspects and investigating leads into a potential transnational drug trafficking organization, according to the Times-Standard and the Humboldt Beacon. Times-Standard reporter Thadeus Greenson has been following the case closely and sadly summed it up for us: “It’s been a rough week for the Kopiej family.” Especially after son Stacio’s shipping box marked ‘chicken wings’ with a Florida mailing address on it turned out to be… well, not wings, but simply more weed.

Kym Kemp’s Redheaded Blackbelt blog also carried the smaller bust ‘o the week remarking what a ‘sobering experience’ that was. Sobering indeed: the speeding charge leading to the DUI charge leading to the 30 pounds of weed discovered in the back charge. Somehow 30 pounds of pot just doesn’t seem like much nowadays. But how about Wednesday’s bust in Dinsmore—the one with 39 arrests?

The dangerously armed “Dust Mask Bandit” (or the “Pimped Out Felt Hat Bandito”) escaped after knocking off McKinleyville’s Coast Central Credit Union in Valley West last week– and eluding the dragnet of law enforcement officers, the FBI, and a smart-smelling K9 in McGyver fashion– only to amicably turn himself in several days later.

ARCATA: The Arcata Eye’s Kevin Hoover scoops in reporting the serving of notice by the City of Arcata to the Occupy Arcata demonstrators demanding that their temporary Plaza living quarters go bye-bye via the cordially terse letter from Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman. While up and coming media mogul, HSU journalist, and organizer Travis Turner offers his view from the Occupy mountaintop to the NorthCoast Journal, patience is wearing thin by police and protesters alike as this Occupy Arcata YouTube video illustrates.

EEL RIVER VALLEY: The Humboldt Beacon reports State Parks officials have decided to postpone the public meeting about the fate of Benbow Dam. The fondly remembered 80-year-old Fortuna Town School was recently demolished in favor of the newer $7.5 million, 13 classroom Fortuna Middle School taking its place. The Humboldt Growers Association sets the record of marijuana (mis)information straight– while guest commenter Robert Sutherland contrarily sets both the HGA and the Cannabis College straight in his sharply worded letter.

EASTERN HUMBOLDT: A hit and run homicide, burglary, arson, and a dead fisherman all make for the Two Rivers Tribune’s busy article by Allie Hostler, “Week Filled with High Crime in Eastern Humboldt County.” TRT writer Malcolm Terence also highlighted “Klamath in the Balance” issues with his insightful article about the Klamath Dam removal forum/teach-in this week attended by the 80 participants– and Humboldt County Supervisors Ryan Sundberg and Mark Lovelace.

PATIENCE OF THE WEEK AWARD: Goes to SoHum Parlance’s Eric Kirk for organizing Garberville’s Community Forum #2 and the shepherding of its homeless issues this week. Eric’s efforts were between heroic and Herculean. Perhaps you don’t want to watch the entire YouTube episode here– as fascinating as it is to see the herding of cats, people, and a cast of colorful characters into any given direction. But you’ll want to take a peek. It is a curiously surprising and voyeuristic endeavor to watch. Tempers and passions flare, finger pointing abounds, blame and solutions arc and spark together… until it all falls apart given the foul words around 45:25. The group regroups. And falls apart again. Curiously enough, no County officials were there– save for Sheriff Downey. And Estelle and Verbena. And the guy holding the prosthetic leg.

LOCAL GOOD GUY GOES BAD: Hank Sims has some choice bits about Food Network star (and former Ferndale Wildcat) Guy Fieri concerning the “celebrity chef’s allegedly retrograde behavior toward women, gays and Jewish people, as well as his simpleminded penchant for potty humor and other juvenilia” as reported in the Minneapolis City Pages– before Fieri’s public relations firm pulled the plug by claiming it just ain’t true after all.

CLEAN UP AND COURTS: The Northcoast Environmental Center broke ground this Thursday on cleanup of the site of its former headquarters on Ninth Street in Arcata, which has been vacant since the 2001 fire that razed the former NEC and adjacent buildings. Meanwhile, the Marina Center/Balloon Track remains vacuously vacant after Citizens for a Better Eureka lost their case to the California 1st District Court of Appeals with the California Supreme Court denying a petition for review last month.

HALLOWEEN HISTORICAL HAUNTS: Fred Mangels of Fred’s Humboldt Blog and other local notables contribute to the unusual Tri-City Weekly’s article by Luis Molina, “Haunted Humboldt County’s Lore Includes Spooky Stories, Macabre Myths” for the historically minded. Not to be outdone, Kate and Spence of the Above the Fold blog are promising ”Mystery, intrigue and unusual circumstances!” by suggesting we “mark our calendar for Sunday, October 30 to attend Grave Matters and Untimely Departures at Fortuna’s Sunrise cemetery where participants will see theatrical presentations portraying the ‘residents’ of the cemetery from 2pm to 6pm.” The Humboldt Herald reports Justin Hobart Brown, a wild and crazy guy, is also in the mix with Hobart’s Historic Halloween Happening at Redwood Acres on Friday, October 28 starting curiously enough at… 7:23 pm. How odd.

ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE WEEKEND: We like free. Especially if it’s a good “free.” The best bet this weekend looks like the (did we say free?) 45 minute mini-opera in English, “”The Elixir of Love,” performed by the San Francisco Opera Guild at the Arkley Center on Sunday, October 30, at 4pm. Hosted by Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy, the opera ala carte presentation is suitable for adults and children.

Other events and entertainment worth considering and easily found:
Friday, October 28
Saturday, October 29
Sunday, October 30

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.

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.

Activists seek 2012 ballot initiative to mandate food labeling

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The campaign to demand consumer awareness of genetically modified organisms in our food supply is coming to Humboldt County.

A nationwide series of solidarity marches against the failure of agribusiness conglomerates to label the presence of genetically engineered ingredients takes place this Saturday, Oct. 16 — including a walk from Old Town Eureka to the county courthouse. The “GMO Right2Know” groups springing up across California are pushing in particular for a ballot initiative they’re attempting to qualify for the November 2012 general election which would mandate the labeling of all GMO-laden food sold in the state.

Organizers were out at the Occupy Eureka encampment on the front lawn of the courthouse this morning spreading the word and making connections between their campaign and the larger movement to Occupy Wall Street, which objects to the domination of the American political economy by banking and other cartels.

Heather Young's daughter, Oceanna McKinney, joins the Occupy Humboldt protest last week at Humboldt State University in Arcata.

“Just like Bank of America, they’re attempting to dominate our lives,” Northern Humboldt Label GMOs co-leader Heather Young said in an interview. “Monsanto is attempting to change laws and suppress information in their efforts to dominate the food supply and make money at the expense of our health…it’s ultimately about the right to know what’s in my food.”

According to the campaigners, 80% of the packaged foods in the United States contain GMOs that have not been proven safe and are not labeled. They will need to gather over 700,000 valid signatures across California to qualify their initiative.

The march begins at the corner of 2nd Street and I Street in Eureka in front of the former Has Beans Cafe, and proceeds to the county courthouse at 4th Street and I Street.

For more information on their campaign, visit LabelGMOs.org or find them on Facebook. The Northern Humboldt branch of the group holds meetings every Sunday at 4 p.m. at Sun Yi’s Academy of Tae Kwon Do in Arcata.

Federal Housing Finance Agency targeted by Congressional coalition

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A coalition of Congressional Democrats came out of a meeting with Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco even more upset than when they entered it.

Outgoing North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (Dem.-St. Helena) harshly rebuked the Obama Administration yesterday for its lack of backbone in standing up to the lending industry on behalf of homeowners.

“Our economy will continue to suffer and taxpayer confidence will never return if we do not help hard working families navigate through this mortgage nightmare,” Thompson stated in a release. “Taxpayers watched as the big banks and bankers were bailed out and now they are losing their homes as their government and the FHFA watches. Nothing the FHFA or the Administration has done has worked. This is unacceptable. I call on Acting Director DeMarco and the Administration to take action to help our families that are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep roofs over their heads. Our mortgage crisis is a shared crisis, hurting not only those taxpayers caught in the housing disaster, but also their families, friends and our communities.”

His comments were echoed by Representative Doris Matsui, who represents the Sacramento area, who said the megabanks continue to do nothing while an unprecedented foreclosure crisis sweeps the nation.

“…Refinancing plans have not been effective enough for Sacramento families,” Matsui stated. “It is critical that lending institutions step up now and work with responsible homeowners seeking affordable loan modifications to keep their families in their homes. Today Acting Director DeMarco heard very clearly from members of the Housing Stabilization Task Force — including myself — that the FHFA must do more to stabilize our nation’s housing market.  Current programs are not doing enough for families in my district – and that must start changing immediately.”

Noted Congressional progressive caucus member George Miller from Martinez talked about his constituents being chewed up and tossed out by the largest corporations in America.

“Today’s meeting was about one thing – sending a message in the strongest possible terms that the Obama Administration must take the concerns of our homeowners seriously,” Miller stated. “Our constituents must be heard, and the Administration should focus their efforts on helping homeowners, not big banks.”

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of Atherton was the most blunt of the group, describing the policies of the Obama Administration as a complete failure.

“In order for our economy to expand, an effective policy must be put into place to turn this devastation of housing around,” Eshoo stated. “The Administration’s weak responses have barely touched ‘the tip of the iceberg,’ and today’s meeting with FHFA Acting Director Edward Demarco was a deeply disappointing one, with few answers and fewer solutions. My constituents deserve so much better than this.”