The Foilies 2024

Recognizing the worst in government transparency We’re taught in school about checks and balances between the various branches of government, but those lessons tend to leave out the role that civilians play in holding officials accountable. We’re not just talking about the ballot box, but the everyday power we all have to demand government agencies make their records and data available to public scrutiny. At every level of government in the United States (and often in other countries), there are laws that empower the public to file requests for public records. They go by various names — Freedom of Information, Right-to-Know, Open Records, or even Sunshine laws — but all share the general concept that because the government is of the people, its documents belong to the people. You don’t need to be a lawyer or journalist to file these; you just have to care. It’s easy to feel powerless in these times, as local newsrooms close and elected officials embrace disinformation as a standard political tool. But here’s what you can do, and we promise it’ll make you feel better: Pick a local agency

Extra, Extra!

Historical Society looks to display newspaper collection, give away duplicate editions The Humboldt County Historical Society will be displaying two decades’ worth of editions of the Times-Standard at the Timber Heritage Association’s shops in Samoa on each of the next three Saturdays, hoping for the public’s help curating them into an exhibition and giving away duplicate copies. Steve Lazar, past president of the Humboldt County Historical Society, said the collection — amassed from several sources — includes tens of thousands of physical copies of the paper, which volunteers have organized by date. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 23, March 30 and April 7, Lazar said the collection will be open to the public to rummage through. Anyone who wants to pick up duplicate papers can, he said, whether for a papier mâché project, to commemorate an anniversary or birthday, or to preserve coverage of a landmark event or personal achievement. But Lazar says he’s really hoping members of the public will help curate an exhibition that will be on display throughout the paper giveaway and, ideally, displayed in a local museum or

Raccoon Life

Editor: Thanks to Jennifer Fumiko Cahill for putting this grumpy old man in touch with his inner “raccoon self.” (“Wishful Weed for 2024,” March 14.) I always enjoy her writing, but this time she spoke to me directly. I wonder how many of us there are out there? Robert Argenbright, McKinleyville…

The Other ‘Overwhelming’

Editor: According to the NCJ’s feature coverage, (“After A,” March 14): “Humboldt County voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure A … [with] … just 27 percent … in support.” In fact, as of March 14, the overwhelming voice among Humboldt County’s estimated 110,903 voting age population was the 82 percent that abstained. The final post-election report will slightly increase turnout to around 30 percent, a figure unchanged since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced it as “the biggest threat to democracy” in his prophetic 1979 energy independence speech. (U.S. officials and media often describe abysmal turnout in other nations as being “illegitimate.”) Awareness is a prerequisite for reform. There are no laws preventing our recently elected Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes from including actual turnout of our voting age population somewhere in every election report, voter guide, media announcements and website, especially considering that this overwhelming majority is also funding Humboldt elections. Self-censoring “the biggest threat to democracy” decade after decade is evident in 50 years of government economic austerity measures, divesting, deregulating and privatizing essential public services, herding millions of families into high-interest payment plans

Love Lies Bleeding’s Genre Breakthrough

LOVE LIES BLEEDING. One might not have suspected there was room to develop new sub-genres within film noir, much less imagined that hyper-stylized, ultra-violent, Southwestern lesbian romance bodybuilding revenge noir could prove such a fertile and vibrant one. This lack of vision is forgivable, both because almost nobody could have foreseen this development and because we have Rose Glass to show us the way. With only her second feature (after Saint Maud in 2019, which I now must see), Glass and co-writer Weronika Tofilska, under the aegis of current cinema saviors A24, has synthesized a great number of disparate influences into a feverishly innovative version of the classic imperiled lovers archetype. Somewhere near the Mexican border, circa 1989, Lou (Kristen Stewart) toils ingloriously in a seedy little gym. She is estranged from her bald-pated ghoul of a father, also Lou (Ed Harris), who controls a network of businesses, legitimate and otherwise. Her brother-in-law JJ (Dave Franco), hot on Lou Sr.’s heels in the race to be the biggest shitbag in the world, routinely beats her sister Beth (Jena Malone) within inches of her life and

California is not Close to Meeting its Climate Change Mandates

California will fail to meet its ambitious mandates for combating climate change unless the state almost triples its rate of reducing greenhouse gases through 2030, according to a new analysis released last week. After dropping during the pandemic, California’s emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other climate-warming gases increased 3.4 percent in 2021, when the economy rebounded. The increase puts California further away from reaching a target mandated under state law: emitting 40 percent less in 2030 than in 1990 — a feat that will become more expensive and more difficult as time passes, the report’s authors told CalMatters. “The fact that they need to increase the speed of reduction at about three times faster than they’re actually doing — that does not bode well,” said Stafford Nichols, a researcher at Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles-based economics research firm, and a co-author of the annual California Green Innovation Index released today. “As we get closer to that 2030 goal, the fact that we’re further off just means that we have to decrease faster each year.” The state is even further away from meeting a more

Music Tonight: Tuesday, March 19

Don’t ask me how, but we have hit the shoreline of the second season of the year and considering the windy wake of this winter’s wet wallop, not a moment too soon. There are many ways to celebrate this shift, from the internal reset to the journal entry to a nude, screaming barbaric yawp and plop into a body of cold water. But my beat is music so I’ll stay in my lane. If you happen to be a fan of soulful roots rock and jazzy jam music, you might want to go to Humbrews to check out the Jennifer Hartswick Band, the leader of which is a singer and trumpet player known for her work with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio in his solo band, among other acts. Bay Area jam band six-piece Wreckless Strangers provide a lot of real groovy support at 8 p.m. ($25). …

Music Tonight: Monday, March 18

Savage Henry Comedy Club is hosting another Metal Monday and tonight’s line-up has a distinct grind flavor, so fans of extreme noise and outer-reach sounds should prick up your ears. Our scene will be represented by Malicious Algorithm and Sadistic Hallucinations, while Seattle is sending some rotten sonic spores in the form of the bands Rat King, Re-Buried and Isenordal. As is generally the case, it’s a $5-$10 sliding scale cover and all-ages, so bring an appropriate I.D. to drink.

Music Tonight: Sunday, March 17

Regular readers will already know my preamble for this holiday, so I’ll make it brief. I’m one of the few American guys named Collin who doesn’t flex on claims of Irish heritage, and I bartended too much to pretend to enjoy this plastic Paddy green beer fest. But for those about to rock, I salute you, especially those among you for whom this day has a greater meaning. Here, humbly submitted, are two certified fine events to settle into and let the good times roll. Starting at 5:30 p.m., the Logger Bar will be featuring live bagpipe music, Irish dancers and a main attraction performance by The Vanishing Pints. There will be corned beef and cabbage while supplies last, and this event also serves as the second anniversary of the new ownership of the joint, which is on its own well worth celebrating. If you prefer your fun to happen under the sun — or whatever we have going on at the time in this county — consider heading to the Shanty at 2 p.m. for a matinee performance of everyone’s favorite local drinking punk

Music Tonight: Saturday, March 16

Luke and Rachael Price are a married couple who form the structure of the roots and country-fried soul act Love, DEAN. The fella plays fiddle and backup, while Rachael sings and strums to a gospel-tuned style of uplifting songwriting. The two lovebirds will be doing their thing at Wrangletown Cider Co. this evening at 8 p.m. for a mere $25 for an intimate recitation of their songbook. …

Music Tonight: Friday, March 15

Seattle trio Biblioteka struts a wide line across a garage rock and punk frontier littered with chewed-up bubblegum pop and distorted grunge debris. Big sounds and big fun come wrapped up in a tight, bombastic package, like a TNT glitter-bomb. Tonight at 9 p.m. at the Miniplex, you can park yourself at ground zero and absorb the blast with fantastic furry freaks Pills for Thrills bringing some local shockwaves to the dropzone ($10)…

Music Tonight: Thursday, March 14

Sansfu is a portmanteau word for sans Tofu, which isn’t a menu option, but rather a reference to the members of Absynth Quartet when they are performing without the drummer (his nickname is Tofu, you see). However, the plot thickens tonight at the Basement because the group is working with some additions: new mandolin player Amanda Malachesky and star chanteuse/multi-instrumentalist Beverly Twist. I am told the musicians will be performing some old tunes from the quartet’s catalog that haven’t been dusted off in quite a while, as well as some covers by David Grisman, Tony Rice and more. 8 p.m. (free)…

SUBATOMIC

Each up, each down, each strange, and every charm that naively splits the atom from which ghost particles emerge and leave us puzzling over metaphors and their meaning, leads us closer to the place where we either grasp the existence of the Divine, or the necessity of it. You decide. Adrienne Veronese…

‘A Source of Solutions’

Editor: It is true that Six Rivers National Forest Service, for the first 20 years after designating the Horse Mountain Botanical Area, let unmanaged target shooting continue. They have been unable to protect the botanical resource (“Trouble on the Mountain,” Jan. 11). That is changing, at governmental pace, as protocol allows for public input. This spring the forest botanist will be sending out a large mailing to initiate the scoping process. This is the first step, on the federal level, to request a closure of this area to target shooting. After the scoping letter goes out and the plan becomes an official proposal, the general public will be invited to submit public comment. We are really encouraged by the current steps being taken by the Forest Service, and will be following their progress closely. The California Native Plant Society — North Coast Chapter, is working with Six Rivers National Forest. We are offering this email address to provide a more immediate means of communication about target shooting and other recreation on Horse Mountain: HorseMountainrec@gmail.com. The Forest Service and we want to hear from the people using the

The Little Drone that Could

Ingenuity, “Ginny” to its friends, will never fly again. The little Mars-based helicopter-drone landed badly on its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, 2024, damaging all four of its carbon fiber wingtips and ruling out future flights. But in the three years since being released from the underbelly of its “mothership” the Mars rover Perseverance, it has accomplished much more than the original five-flight goal. In short, Ingenuity has been a stunning success and NASA’s experience with the first machine to fly on another world will change the future of space exploration in two ways. First, we now know powered flight on other worlds with atmospheres is indeed possible; second, a space-faring vehicle can be built comparatively cheaply with mostly off-the-shelf components that were originally developed for smartphones. To stress the first point, a year before Ingenuity began its mission, NASA associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said, “We don’t even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars is possible.” As for the second, look no further than Ingenuity’s “brain,” a half-ounce 2015-era Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip found, for instance, in Samsung’s $99 Galaxy S5

‘Thank You’

Editor: Thank you so much for your very informative collection of election results on the day following the election (NCJ Daily, March 7). It is very well done and so important for all of us to have quick and thorough results of the election. I had spent decades working all night on election results with a large staff of fellow journalists while with United Press International in Washington, D.C. I remember the tasks involved and the working together atmospheres within the Washington office and offices coordinating with us from around the United States. The staff at the North Coast Journal has demonstrated that coordination and skills. Thank you. Dave Rosso, Eureka…

‘A Pretty Self-reliant Bunch’

Editor: You can say what you want about the folks behind the mysterious company that made the strangely high bid to buy the Jacobs campus property from the Eureka City Schools district, about whom all we know is that Rob Arkley is definitely not one of them, and/or about former district Superintendent Van Vleck, who signed the deal with the mysterious company and then “stepped down,” but they seem like a pretty self-reliant bunch. Because apparently, based on Mr. Greenson’s recounting of the evidence, they negotiated the whole deal, including that weird complication of transferring to the district a piece of rental property, without consulting any assessors, engineers, consultants, real estate agents, etc. That’s pretty impressive, though maybe slightly suspicious. But I guess they just got together over a couple of locally-brewed ales, and, in a spirit of civic betterment, knocked out the deal and sealed it with hearty handshakes. Of course, from the district’s point of view, it would probably have been better to require the mysterious company to seal the deal with something more substantial than a promise. Because it sure sounds like the mysterious people

Music Tonight: Tuesday, March 12

The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra is an institution which will forever be associated with the pinnacle of World War II-era big band jazz, in no small part because its eponymous founder disappeared into the fog of war aboard an allied air force plane headed from England to France sometime in the hours before the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. Like the plane he was on and its crewmen, Miller has never been found, drifting into history and musical mythos like the ghost of a Zippo-lit Chesterfield fading away on melting celluloid reels from yesteryear. The orchestra, however, has endured, dedicated to playing the style and arrangements of its long-ago fallen leader, whose ears and mind produced a certain magic that defined the sound of joy, victory and pleasure across the free world. Tonight at 7 p.m., you can catch its current iteration at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts, where the ticket pricing is as follows: $42 general, $27 seniors and children, $10 for CPH students…

Music Tonight: Monday, March 11

It’s just another Metal Monday over at Savage Henry Comedy Club at 6 p.m., so don’t go wishing it were Sunday, even if that’s your I-don’t-have-to-run-day. These are fun, too. Tonight’s gig brings two bands from Everett, Washington, KillCam and Resin Cough, for a meet-up with our local heroes GRUG! and Brain Dead Rejects. This all-ages gig requires a valid I.D. from anyone of proper age who wishes to drink alcohol and comes with a $5-$10 sliding scale door charge, which isn’t bad at all, especially if you do a little math on the distance from Snohomish County to Humboldt and the current price of gasoline…

Timothy David Cochrane: 1953-2024

Tim Cochrane was born the evening of Aug. 24, 1953, in his maternal grandparents’ home in Eureka, California, to James William Cochrane III and Alice Loree Stockton Cochrane of Loleta, California. He and elder brother James Michael “Sham” were later joined by Robert Todd and sister Leslie Loree, the four of them growing up on Singley Hill in Loleta. Tim had an ear for music and began playing the piano when he was only 3 years old. On his fourth birthday, he was presented with a piano from his parents, launching a lifelong love for the instrument and all things musical. Tim attended Loleta Elementary where his father was superintendent and briefly attended Fortuna Union High School before the family relocated to Chiapas, Mexico, resulting in a year escaping formal education and exploring the jungles of the Yucatan. Later, the family moved to Peru when his parents joined the Summer Institute of Linguistics. The time in the Amazon was formative for Tim and he embraced the different cultures, their traditions, music and cuisines. Packing his trusty accordion along since the piano did not fit under

Music Today: Sunday, March 10

Pianist John Chernoff, violinist Cindy Moyer and sax player Virginia Ryder make up the Vipisa Trio, a group of music department staff who have been performing together long before the CPH rebrand. Today at Fulkerson Hall, the trio will be performing a 2 p.m. matinee of music including the work of local alum and current University of California Los Angeles composition and theory teacher Dante Da Silva. There will also be pieces by the composers Marc Eychenne and Richard Wienhorst ($15, $5 children and Cal Poly Humboldt students)…