California Dolphin

The Humboldt Journalism Project recently named two first place winners for this year’s 40th Award, including North Coast Journal News Editor Thadeus Greenson for his series of articles on the controversy surrounding Eureka City Schools’ now-defunct deal with a mystery developer for the purchase of the former Jacobs Middle School and a Eureka ballot measure seeking to block affordable housing projects. “His coverage, published in the face of a threatening letter from the school district’s attorney, shed light on the players behind a land deal that was intertwined with Eureka’s Measure F,” a press release says. “That ballot measure, which failed in November, would have limited Eureka’s affordable housing plans and protected parking lots instead.” Also honored was Isabella Vanderheiden of the Lost Coast Outpost for her work, “There a Ticking Time Bomb in the Heart of Orick, and It’s Not Clear Whether Anybody Can Do Anything About It,” which the release describes as examining the “complex issues of flood safety, river ecology, levee maintenance and much more, describing multi-layered conflicts in efforts to protect the struggling community of Orick.” The award, which comes with

A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed in December against North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman alleging he broke the law when he voted in favor of providing military aid to Israel. About a month after the case was filed, Vince Chhabria, a judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, ordered the plaintiffs — a group of more than 500 taxpayers from nine counties, including Humboldt — to explain why they had an actionable case or standing to bring it, saying, “At first glance, this lawsuit appears to be a frivolous attempt to get the court involved in a pure foreign policy issue.” He ordered the plaintiffs’ attorneys to file a response of not more than 15 pages. “The plaintiffs should use the space to explain how they have standing, to describe what sort of relief they could be entitled to and articulate why it would be appropriate for a federal court to get involved in foreign policy questions relating to the United States’ role in the Middle East,” the judge’s order states, noting that attorneys representing Huffman and fellow Representative

The Humboldt County Fair Association Board of Directors will meet tomorrow facing a decision its members say may shape the very future of the iconic annual event. At issue is whether the association should pursue holding a horse racing meet — a staple of the yearly event going back generations — even as the industry is in a state of collapse. Should the board choose to move forward, it will do so without the help of the California Association of Racing Fairs, which has historically provided much of the logistical and financial heavy lifting. That means the fair association would be solely responsible for borrowing or purchasing necessary equipment, securing and paying for federal and state licenses, gathering purse money, negotiating contracts with betting agencies and simulcast providers, and recruiting horses and trainers to fill the races. As Board President Andy Titus explained it to the Journal some weeks ago, the board faces competing fears. On the one hand, it’s long been believed racing is the proverbial rising tide that lifts all ships and that while it in and of itself may not be profitable

Editor: In asking how 300 people could be wrong in their support of another elite retirement community in McKinleyville, I’m reminded of the 77 million that just voted to put billionaires in charge of national policy (the advertisement for Life Plan Humboldt, Feb. 13). Any institution, small business or “nonprofit” accessing public resources and subsidies used to advantage privileged individuals merits public outrage. The cruel fallacy of “separate but equal” has expanded with bipartisan support. Life Plan Humboldt founders could have avoided costly visits to similar Life Care Communities by visiting their websites where all-white boards of directors and residents reflect an expected outcome from $650,000 entry fees, thousands more in monthly charges to stay and additional user-fees for services … mirroring billionaire’s priorities for the nation. “We’re living in one of the most segregated versions of American society that has ever existed where democratic leadership fails to counterpunch against oligarchs, at a minimum, by publicly articulating universal programs helping working class families,” U.C. Irvine professor Catherine Liu said commenting on her book: Virtue Hoarders, The Case Against The Professional Managerial Class. Instead, the nation’s

Editor: Anti-vaxers are like drunk drivers, maybe worse (Mailbox, Jan. 16). Both anti-vaxers and drunk drivers think that what they want to do is more important than other people’s lives. Many drunk drivers acknowledge that drunk driving is wrong. But they delude themselves: “But I’m not drunk” or “I can handle it.” Anti-vaxers don’t even admit they’re doing wrong. Some get very sanctimonious, claiming it’s their constitutional right. It’s not. Read the Constitution! There is nothing in the Constitution that allows an individual to “pursue happiness” in such a way as to harm others. That would include causing avoidable deaths. At present there is a flu epidemic that is killing more people than COVID (which also can be prevented with a vaccine). And there is a whooping cough epidemic. Some people cough so hard they crack a rib. But the great majority of people who die from whooping cough are infants — because they’re too young to receive vaccines. Is avoiding an injection worth an infant’s life? Or the lives of seniors or people who have chronic diseases? There are significant criminal penalties for drunk driving. Anti-vaxers should be dealt with the same way. Robert Argenbright, McKinleyville…