Category: Far North

A Life of Adventure — Laughing Sal shall laugh no more! Sal’s preëminent patron, fan of fun, Carol Lynn (née Ayers) Wilson of Eureka, California, has passed. Carol loved Laughing Sal, that iconic robotic greeter at Playland at the Beach. As a child she eagerly looked forward to visiting Playland with her family on yearly vacations to San Francisco. All are but a memory. Carol, the daughter of Laila and Morris Ayers of Eureka, California, arrived on this good earth in 1942. She passed away in the manner she came in, quietly in a room with a view of rhododendrons, and of coastal redwoods reaching for the heavens. Carol was an adventurer from the beginning. At age 3 she cut off her long blond braids to the horror of her mother, Laila Ayers, and kept her hair short for the rest of her days. She was independent. Her realms of adventure included gourmet French cuisine (and teaching her 7-year-old nephew how to prepare escargot). Carol and her husband, Curtis F. Wilson, were global travelers. Their adventures included traveling the the world from Bora Bora to

Born Aug. 28, 1938, in Scotia, California, Clara May Voigt was the fifth child of 10 born to her parents Warren G. and Clara M. Voigt of Shively, California. She was the fourth girl of seven in the family in addition to three brothers. Life in Shively in the ’40s and early ’50s was rather dull. Clara, maybe more than any of her other siblings, was a girl of adventure. A city girl trapped in a country setting. How she loved the trips to Eureka on the train with her grandmother as a young child. The big city had so much to offer a young country girl. She would always behave her very best hoping to coax a nickel out of her favorite grandmother for some special “shopping” in Eureka. Come to think of it, shopping was always her favorite pastime to the very end. Coming out of the Great Depression, life was very simple in her youth. Father Warren worked for the railroad and, as was common in those days, her mother Clara was home with all the children. With nine mouths to feed

On this week’s NCJ Preview, News Editor Thadeus Greenson covers how the Jefferson Center is now thriving as a Westside hub, in Digital Editor Kimberly Wear’s story Community Connection. Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill talks about Tiggerbouncer Custodio’s coverage of a pair of stage performances . Finally, Greenson touches on Trans Week of Resistance and its importance in the aftermath of the presidential election in ‘The Gift of Community.” Find these stories and more in this week’s North Coast Journal! READ FULL STORIES HERE Community Connection Silence and Depth ‘The Gift of Community’ All these stories and more can be found in the latest issue of the Journal or on our website at: northcoastjournal.com/. …

Hope can be intoxicating. Reality is the antidote. Mixed up emotions cascade, carom, careen, Ricocheting from vibrant visions of dreamt futures realized Echoing in dark wells of defeat. As the returns return hope dwindles, flickers, and fades away. It’s hard to look at US and not recoil. “That’s not who we are!” We hear it everywhere, as a response to the worst in our nature. We all say it. We all mean it. But…     up here The view from up here on the objective plane exposes US. This is who we are, in fact, after fact, after fact. The proud citadel…shamed. The shining city on a hill…dimmed The beacon of freedom…sputtering before the world. We are all in this together. Let’s face it. It walks like a duck. Quack, quack! We are the duck…whether we like it or not. The big WE, who I am a part of, made that choice. Embracing the tyrant. Arms not meant for hugging, Words unfit for speaking, Leaders not looked up to, Embarrassment, shame, disrespect. They flash by, but I resist them. I choose to HOPE. I will resist the

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Editor: The voters of America have made their choice, President Trump will return to the White House and work for all Americans to repair the damage to our country from four years of the Biden/Harris administration (NCJ Daily, Nov. 7). By default, America is the stabilizing force in the world against the worst actions of men with bad intentions. When Biden abandoned Afghanistan to the 10th century barbarians, costing the lives of 13 American service members, terrorists took notice. Israel and Ukraine paid the price for the decisions of a man that hasn’t been correct in his entire political career. His bad choices were evident by picking a woman as his vice president that was unable to articulate a simple answer to any question. A women charged with dealing with our southern border played Solitaire on her computer in her office, while 10 to 15 million illegal immigrants walked into our country. Harris could have won the election, as WSJ Opinion writer Peggy Noonan wrote, if she had stated six words, “No boys on the girls team,” but she was unable. Biden/Harris were unfit in

The human family was treated to comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) during October, a visitor from the outer reaches of the solar system. Here in Humboldt County, it graced the western skies after sunset for several weeks, but it is fading fast now as it recedes from our planet on its journey back out from the sun. Many comets have predictable orbits. This one came in from far beyond Pluto, and it was originally thought that it would return to our part of the solar system in around 80,000 years, but it now seems to be on a course that will take it out of the solar system entirely. So much for predictability, but you and I were never going to see it again in any case. I hadn’t been going out much to do my night photography of late, but with the comet’s arrival my little voice started piping up, “If you don’t go out, you won’t bring anything back.” People who fish probably have that voice, too. But on some of the best viewing nights it wasn’t possible for me to get out. On other nights

I am not going to sugarcoat it: A second Trump administration is a threat to our planet and the next four years are going to be difficult. During the Biden administration, rightwing activists were working hard at developing an aggressive agenda for Trump that will take aim at many things we hold dear. This includes attacks on many of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act. Where the new administration is unable to successfully strip environmental protections, there will likely be funding cuts to agencies charged with enforcing those protections. But we will resist. We will protest. And we will fight them in court. Coming into a second term, it appears Trump will be better able to execute his agenda. It took some time for the Trump administration to learn how to govern during his first term. In his return, however, his administration will likely better understand how to better work their agenda. Trump now controls both houses of Congress and with 220 judges appointed in his first term, he has significantly remade the judiciary to be

The Wiyot Tribe held a private ceremony and celebration today to mark the official return of Digawututklh, a 350-acre section of ancestral land in Samoa with significant historical and cultural importance to the tribe. “This place has traditionally been used for food harvesting such as clams and surf fish, it was also a ceremonial place where the red woodpecker dance was held, now that the land has been returned these cultural practices can return,” Wiyot Tribal Chair Brian Mead said in the announcement. “Digawututklh was also part of a vast traditional transportation system, this village was a place where people came from the north to catch redwood dugouts to get to other locations such as Tuluwat, Jourijiji and other sites,” Mead said. Tribal Councilmember Hazel James also noted the “deep connection” the Wiyot people — who have lived in the Humboldt Bay region since time immemorial — have with Digawututklh, stating, “the Tribe had villages throughout the Samoa peninsula, this place is incredibly special to us.” For the last four years, the ecologically diverse property containing “open dunes, an extensive coastal forest, seasonal wetlands and

Speaking of Vegan Slaughterhouse, the band is playing again tonight, this time on the undercard of what looks like it’s going to be a real banger over at the Siren’s Song Tavern at 7:30 p.m. Swiss and Dutch duo The Sex Organs comes down from the Alps and up from the continental low country to share its filthy garage punk sounds and custom costumed antics for the people of our county. On the bill as well and providing excellent local support and representation is Clean Girl and the Dirty Dishes, another duo not afraid to embrace its catchy, campy, kitschy and dirty sides ($10).

Last week, according to a press release from the Sequoia Park Zoo, a young red panda named Saffron moved into new digs here in Humboldt. As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s species survival plan, the little tyke, born in July of 2023 (a Cancer? a Leo?) at Garden City, Kansas’ Lee Richardson Zoo, left his parents Charlie Junior and Paprika to join us in Eureka. The release quotes Animal Curator Amanda Auston saying, “Red pandas are part of our identity as a zoo, and we all have been patiently — but eagerly — waiting for this little guy!” She also notes that the change of environment requires time for Saffron to get accustomed to his new life. On top of a 30-day quarantine protocol, it may be months before the public gets a glimpse of the stripy fellow the staff have nicknamed Baby Spice. Read the full press release, beginning with an explanation as to why Eureka can’t have its own internet-busting baby hippo, below: SEQUOIA PARK ZOO RESPONDS TO COMMUNITY CRY FOR BABY PYGMY HIPPO EUREKA, CA – Sequoia Park Zoo

The California Highway Patrol is investigating a motorcycle crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Fortuna on Sunday afternoon that left two people dead. According to a press release from the CHP, a 41-year-old Fortuna man was driving a 2007 Harley Davidson Road King northbound south of Main Street with a group of motorcyclists when, for unknown reasons, he lost control of the bike, causing he and his passenger to be ejected. When emergency personnel responded to reports of the crash shortly after noon, they pronounced the driver dead at the scene and transported his 46-year-old female passenger with major injuries to St. Joseph Hospital, where she later died. The identities of both the driver and passenger are being withheld currently until their families can be notified of their deaths. The highway was closed for about two hours as officers investigated the crash, but it is currently unknown “what factors may have contributed to its cause,” the release states. The CHP asks anyone with information about the accident to contact it at (707) 822-5981 or Humboldt_Area@chp.ca.gov. Find the full accident report here…

Nashville’s electro-punk and dance act Terror Pigeons settles down at the Outer Space tonight at 7 p.m. for an evening of sound loops and confessional bedroom rock music. Also on deck is Swirlhood a trio of singers and strummers who have carved out yet another divot in the world of DIY songwriting and performance. Local players Vegan Slaughterhouse will also be lending its considerable stage skills for the evening. No one turned away for lack of funds and otherwise $5-$20 sliding scale.

Connecticut rapper Ceschi is teaming up with Canadian producer, DJ and collaborator Factor Chandelier for their Final West Coast Tour. This one rolls through Humbrews tonight at 8 p.m., where you can also enjoy the musical recitations of opening guests AJ Suede and Miles Bullen. I’m not going to pretend to be well versed in their sound, so you’ll have to see for yourself what’s going down. It’s $20 at the door, $5 off if you buy your tickets in advance.

Again, speaking of things which started in 2017, Orphic Percussion is a quartet of off-roading, free-ranging mallet-wielders whose sonic palette includes traditional chromatic instruments like marimbas and vibraphones, along with drums of various descriptions, and found items from the metallic world. Contrapuntal coordination galore is at work in this act’s sets and worth your time on an otherwise sleepy Sunday. The place is the Arcata Playhouse, the time is 7:30 p.m. and the penny-ante at the door is $20…

The huntsman’s horns are calling out a familiar tune, for those with the ears to hear. Some old rituals are returning to our lands, bringing a warmth to this increasingly cold season of mists. I am referring to the return of metal show at the Eureka Veterans Hall, where after the doors open at 6 p.m., you can experience a lineup of local titans if you bring a $5-$20 sliding scale admission currency with you. Imperial Destructo, Planet of Green, War Möth and a penis-logo-themed act called Far From Flaccid will be providing all of the sonic booms and big bangs tonight. If you are feeling something a little different for tonight’s entertainment, consider heading over to the Arcata Theatre Lounge at 9 p.m. to check out the set by Stockton rapper EBK Young Joc. He’s been in the game for seven years as well, and it shows in his skills ($25, $20 advance).

Editor: Welcoming Mitch Trachtenberg’s entry (Mailbox, Oct. 31) into the Barry Evans inspired (“Plenty o’ Nuttin,” Oct. 10) philosophical debate regarding “nothing,” I begin with a quote from Mr. Trachtenberg’s entry:  “The computer representations consist of ones and zeros, but the things being represented (50, 0, pi, null) don’t depend on being represented in order to be possibilities in reality. [Correct] Just unplug the computer, and you have (a computer version of) nothing. It is perfectly reasonable for there to have been nothing.”  Oh, no, no, no, Mr. Trachtenberg. Unplug the computer and you still have the computer and its ideated “version of nothing.” Your digital age metaphor simply transposes the preeminence of life in the living cosmos into your man-made realm of computer technology.  Then, as per convention in human affairs, the ideation of the absence of computer representations is mistaken as something named nothing and, thereby, tumbles into the same trap as made Barry Evans sigh. It is a sophist trap that is dependent on humanity’s hubris conceit that its individuated manifestations of self-awareness are privy to the secrets of existence.  Death, as

The Humboldt County Elections Office has issued its first post election report, adding about 2,539 votes to the tally, with 33,956 votes counted thus far, representing about 40.07 percent of registered voters. The elections office reported yesterday that about 34,000 ballots remained to be counted, saying it will release updates Fridays until all votes are counted. Here’s a rundown of the results so far in the races for city council, open seats on the Humboldt Bay Harbor and Conservation District and local ballots measures. Arcata City Council (three seats) Stacy Atkins-Salazar — 2,083 votes (25.89 percent) Gregory Daggett — 620 votes (7.71 percent) Shea Love Freedomhowler — 386 votes (4.80 percent) Dana Quillman — 354 votes (4.40 percent) Sarah Schaefer — 1,853 votes (23.03 percent) Genevieve Serna — 1,201 votes (14.93 percent) Alexandra Stillman — 1,548 votes (19.24 percent) Blue Lake City Council (three seats) Christopher Edgar — 87 votes (11.79 percent) Christopher Guy Firor — 106 votes (14.36 percent) Adelene Jones — 109 votes (14.77 percent) Michelle Lewis Lusso — 136 votes (18.43 percent) Katheryn Napier — 116 (15.72 percent) Verda Winona Natasha Pitts

In seven years — as of October — on this beat, not to mention my affinity for music before I started writing about it, I have gathered a lot of notes on how artists sound live. Too many notes to be of any real use, but I still defer to them from time to time. So while I know that I have heard Laurie Lewis live before, I don’t know where or when. All I have is a quick scrawl that reads “Good grass, soft but with an edge to her voice.” That’ll do. Tonight the bluegrass and folk chanteuse brings her band The Right Hands to the Old Steeple at 7:30 p.m. If you are a fan of the style, consider going to make some notes of your own ($30, $26.50 early online)…

On this week’s NCJ Preview, News Editor Thadeus Greenson talks about the integrity of the elections process in Humboldt County and this week’s cover story “Powerful.” Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill then talks about the delicious things you can find at Old Town’s Taco Town Fruteria and the Fieldbrook Country Kitchen. Finally, Greenson touches on the local election results. Find these stories and more in this week’s North Coast Journal. READ FULL STORIES HERE ‘Powerful’ What’s Good? Back to Summer and Fieldbrook Election Results Final Return: Local Measures Election Results Final Return: Local Races All these stories and more can be found in the latest issue of the Journal or on our website at: northcoastjournal.com/. …

Editor: I read with interest the letters about the barred versus spotted owls in the Oct. 24 NCJ (Mailbox). Based on the tone and the content, I’d bet my bippy that Ken Burton is the only professional biologist/naturalist among the commenters. When we went to college together, I knew him as hard working and well educated. Based on that, and the credibility established above, if Ken says so on a topic like this, it quite likely is so. Thank you for the opportunity to share my views. Dave Kahan, Redway…