Category: Far North

On this week’s episode of the NCJ Preview, we’re joined by Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, who honors the life of the beloved local chef and ceramicist Mark Campbell in her piece “Big Heart.” News Editor Thadeus Greenson gives a n update on St. Joseph Hospital and a second harrowing lawsuit related to care of pregnant patients. Watch all this in more on the NCJ Preview! ‘A Big Heart’ ‘A Nightmare on Replay’ Read all these stories and more at: www.northcoastjournal.com …

Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” is on the program tonight at the Van Duzer Theatre at 7 p.m. ($25-$50). Now in its 29th year of production, this mix of storytelling, music and dance evokes the mid-20th century bygone days of holiday celebration as experienced by the people of Western Ireland. Enjoy the folklore and fun from a time before mass entertainment, and a place steeped in a rich celebration of the Nativity. At the same hour across the safety corridor, Synapsis is kicking off its 20th anniversary weekend celebration with a dance party show of Balkan music, courtesy of Chubritza. No set price or tickets for this event, but donations are welcome and will be collected at the door…

Yesterday Jason Mitchell, owner of Eureka’s Jerk Kitchen (427 W Harris St.), announced via Instagram that the Jamaican restaurant would serve its final meals of jerk chicken, stewed oxtails and fresh cornbread on Friday, Dec. 20. He begins the post by “saying thank you for allowing me to take one of my greatest loves, which is cooking, and be able to share it with the community of Humboldt; I have enjoyed serving each and every one of you.” He invites folks to visit for a last taste of Jamaican culture and food, signing off, “Remain blessed, One Love.” Over the phone, Mitchell, who took over the spot from original owners and fellow Jamaican immigrants Dell Bryan and Joanna Kerr, says the restaurant just wasn’t doing enough business. “For me to keep hearing all the time, ‘You have the best food’ or ‘the best food in Humboldt County,'” while still not seeing that reflected in traffic just doesn’t make the investment worth it. While Jerk Kitchen had been on the market with a price tag of $105,000, Mitchell says he has removed the listing. He says

Here’s a thought: Try starting your long solstice weekend off with some free jazz. Not free in the sense of genre, but a no-cover show at the Basement at 7:30 p.m., with fusion group HDMB Jazz. …

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Mazda: I drive a 1990 Mazda Miata, whose reliability and near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles give me hope that it will “see me through,” to borrow a phrase from my late father-in-law. Why “Mazda?” In 1931, cork manufacture Toyo Kogyo was looking for a new company name to celebrate the launch of its first vehicle, a tricycle truck. According to its website, “Mazda comes from Ahura Mazda, the god of harmony, intelligence and wisdom from the earliest civilization in West Asia.” Ahura Mazda, literally “Lord Wisdom,” is the creator deity in the ancient Iranian religion Zoroastrianism. Subaru: While we’re on the topic of autos, “Subaru” is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster also known as the “Seven Sisters.” Why only six stars in the Subaru logo? Because the star Merope is now dimmer than when the Greeks were mythologizing constellations in the night sky. Perhaps, goes the story, Merope is hiding herself because of the shame of having a mortal husband, Sisyphus. Phaistos Disc: Considered by some as the earliest example of ancient moveable type printing, the Phaistos

Wednesday Adams, wearing Thursday Boots, had dinner with friends at TGI Fridays on Saturday night. They went to Ruby Tuesday for dessert, each of them ordering a sundae. Garrett Snedaker…

Editor: The older Journal archives are not easily searchable. The “local newspaper” that labeled Patty Berg “the Energizer Bunny?” It was the Journal in a July 10, 2003, cover story (“Eye of the Storm.”) I didn’t know her well in those days but later I was honored to become one of Patty’s girlfriends — once I became old enough. (We are all late-70s and up, except for one newbie.) Until recently we did meet monthly to try to solve the world’s problems and our own. Patty once said she wanted her tombstone to read, “She tried!” And boy, did she. Judy Hodgson, Fieldbrook…

Editor: By all measures, the United States was hit hard by the COVID pandemic. It was real. Unemployment, scarcity of essential parts and consumer products, medical overwhelm, reduced education for children, anxiety, fear, distrust of masks and shots, and polarized actions. All of these factors collectively caused economic and societal pain and anguish. All in all, a difficult time for an incoming administration to seek remedies on many fronts. By all measures, over four years, the current administration did an excellent job addressing these ails. Regrettably the news seemed to focus on decisions in Afghanistan that quickly became a metaphor for four entire years of progress. Today, employment is at a 50-year low, the stock market is at an all-time high, the economy is making a soft landing from the COVID crisis, average wages are 5 percent higher than before the pandemic. Much of the material needed to rebuild bridges, fix roads, upgrade wastewater treatment plants and other infrastructure projects is now produced in this country. A deliberate move by the administration to move manufacturing jobs back home, 16 million new jobs were added during

North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman has been named the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee after a weeks-long campaign for the post. “It is the honor of my lifetime to win this election and be named ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee,” Huffman said in a press release of his new role as Democratic leader of the committee. “My entire career has been centered around natural resources – from my time as an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council to the past 12 years serving on this committee.” In the release, Huffman noted his district gives him a “unique perspective and comprehensive insight” on the issues tackled by the committee, noting specifically that his Second District has more Indigenous tribes than any outside of Alaska, includes an array of public lands and waters, faces some of the worst impacts of the climate crisis and is “at the forefront of innovative climate solutions.” As Huffman campaigned for the post, he announced having received the support of current and former committee members, other members of Congress, a coalition of 32 tribes and tribal

In the runup to the November election, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale violated federal rules prohibiting nonprofit entities from engaging in electioneering activities in favor or opposition to any candidate for public office, a pair of experts tell The Journal. St. Mark’s pastor Tyrel Bramwell’s election-related conduct began raising questions among some Ferndale residents in October, when he put up a Trump campaign sign on the lawn outside his personal residence, which is owned by the church, posted a video to his YouTube channel urging people not to vote for a Ferndale City Council candidate he labeled an “idiot” (though he insisted he wasn’t using the term in a pejorative sense) and St. Mark’s changed its marquee to urge people to vote against Proposition 3, which, passed by 63 percent of voters, enshrined marriage equality in the state Constitution. Experts, however, say none of these things violated tax code language prohibiting nonprofits with tax-exempt status from engaging in certain campaign activity. While the Trump sign was technically on church-owned property, they said it was a political statement made by Bramwell as an individual, unlikely

Speaking of Savage Henry Comedy Club, tonight at 9 p.m. you can enjoy True Kult, a show created and hosted by comedian Patrick Redmond, where comedians explore all things paranormal, from little gray men to cryptids to xenomorphs. Just $5 gets you a spot inside, with an online fee that once again produces an odd price, this time $7.18. Spooky.

Low brow, low budget, painfully bad films are an itch to tickle for some of you out there. If you are in that number, you can’t get any closer to the rancid wet shit of terrible, sub-cult films than Feeders 2: Slay Bells . It’s the 1998 sequel to the original Feeders, a Blockbuster Video Chain VHS release that is every bit as cheap and awful as this Christmas-themed sequel. I will admit to not having it in me to make it through the first act. However, for those into laughing at the tragically bad, Savage Henry Comedy Club is the place to find this stinker being exhumed, where for $10 or $12.51 online, you can settle in at 6 p.m. for the spectacle.

Rising star Bay Area comedian Paul Conyers brings his stand-up chops to the Basement tonight for two sets, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., so you have options if you are more or less of a Sunday nighthawk. The $20 admission is not a bad deal for a headlining comedian who fills larger venues in the more populated parts of the country…

The Miniplex is putting on the kind of gig it does best, with cosmic folk musician Julie Beth Napolin, who will be joined by local heroes Ethan Miller of Howlin’ Rain and Comets on Fire fame, and Anthony Taibi, a sound maker, breaker and recorder who has been in too many amazing psyche projects to name. The fabulous Meg Baird from Winter Band opens with a solo set. Music at 8 p.m., and a mere $10 gets you past the Unicorn Door and into the palace of goodies.

Here’s an unusually and fittingly outré gig for the final Friday the 13th of 2024. Visiting from Spain, the enigmatic, masked (and possibly haunted doll) LA NEUTRA is presenting a DJ-curated, mixtape trip called “March of the Trolls, Dance Exorcism.” Expect a wide range of globe-spanning music, including remixes of Indian and Arabic music, as well as reggae, dub, dubstep, and deep and heavy meditation dance trax. This one-of-a-kind sonic carnival will be going down at the Ocean Grove Lounge, providing an extra edge of deep woods, remote highway eeriness to the wham-a-lam. Music kicks off at 10 p.m. until late and it’s a mere $5 to get inside. Viva…

It might not be Monday, but it’s still a metal night over at Savage Henry Comedy Club, where at 9 p.m., you can enjoy a line-up of bands from both here and abroad. The road dogs are represented by blackened thrash band Oxygen Destroyer from a scattering of cities further north in the Pacific Northwest, along with New Jersey’s Kontusion. Local psychos Bloodspire and Image Pit round out the bill nicely ($5). …

You moved through like high tide in heavy rain—muddied, filled with beer cans, broken limbs, dangerous against the banks— your fast moving, your hard beauty, the high-water mark I stare at with disbelief and fear— the three inches of rusty water I carry everywhere. Jason Marak…

Editor: As the stable genius, President-elect Donald Trump, nonchalantly stated right smack dab in the middle of a horrifyingly deadly global pandemic, “It is what it is.” To him, it was the “kung flu” and it would soon go away. And now he’s slated to run this country of 345 million people … again (Mailbox, Dec. 5). So, when the workplace raids for mass deportations begin and the grocery prices do not fall … and durable goods become more costly due to tariffs, who should we blame?  When the tax cuts continue for the wealthiest of the wealthy and our allies are thrown to the Russian bear, who will be to blame? When the EPA is dismantled and current climate-initiative programs are tossed aside due to climate change denialism, who should we be listening to? As the ugly vulgarity of right-wing conspiracies continue and “retribution” begins against judges and other perceived enemies of The Great Leader, will it just be another day in the White House?   The popular vote has spoken and declared a winner. Over half of the electorate has decided this guy is of sound mind and the right stuff. So

Editor: The democrat regime in Sacramento plans to use their super majority to “Trump-proof” California again (“Top Dems Say They Won’t Just ‘Trump-proof’ CA, They’ll Make it Affordable Again,” Dec. 5), rather than help the citizens of California. They convened a special session this month to earn more per-diem payments on top of their already lucrative salary and benefits. They announced they would make California “affordable” as well by spending more taxpayer money on housing, energy, homeless and improving public infrastructure. How any of that makes California more “affordable” is a mystery to me. One item they aren’t interested in is making our great state safer by addressing crime. Our own Sen. McGuire worked with Gov. Newsom to keep Proposition 36 off the ballot. Fortunately, voters passed it overwhelmingly. The article focuses on Sen. President Pro Tem McGuire and Assembly Speaker Rivas as the drivers in the Legislature of the effort to improve the lives of citizens hit hard with the most expensive electricity outside of Hawaii, the most expensive gasoline and diesel, the most homeless, the highest taxes and regulations in America. It fails

This election has left many of us a bit shaken in our beliefs and buffeted by fear and doubt. The yammering and hammering are unrelenting. Never has a bird that smashes its head into wood up to 20 times a second been more relatable. We all could use thicker skulls these days. If only we were more like Picidae, the woodpecker family — they actually have thicker skulls, built to withstand forces 1,000 times that of gravity. How useful would that be right about now? Woodpecker physiology has long been scrutinized by scientists hoping to discover how the bird avoids brain injury given its tree-bashing lifestyle. For years it was assumed that the tough, spongy bone of a woodpecker’s skull acted as a sort of shock absorber, cushioning its birdy brain from repeated percussion. However, recent studies have shown that a woodpecker’s brain moves in near-perfect tandem with its bill as it hammers away but, because of the brain’s small size — 700 times smaller than a human brain — plus its snug fit inside the brain case, it doesn’t slosh around and sustain damage