Picnic tables, garbage bins piled up and burned at Cutten sports complex
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/23/09
Cutten
Local law enforcement is looking into an act of arson responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damage on the grounds of Redwood Fields sports complex in Cutten.
At about 10:20 a.m. this morning a deputy from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was flagged down by two unnamed residents who informed him of a fire at the sports complex. Upon arriving on scene, the deputy found a smoldering pile of debris, the remains of five picnic tables and four plastic garbage bins piled together on top of the cover of a sewage lift pump.
The fire destroyed the pump, tank, bins and tables, three of which were solid redwood, according to HCSO public information officer Brenda Godsey. The estimated damage to the facility tops $18,000, according to Redwood Fields president Rex Bohn.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
HSU attracts $892K for biology mentoring
National Science Foundation grant targets underrepresented groups
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/23/09
Arcata
Humboldt State University will enroll its first group of under-represented students next summer under a five-year, $892,000 National Science Foundation grant to mentor undergraduate research in the biological sciences.
Of the nearly $900,000 total, $318,000 will be awarded the first two years. Preference will be given to students entering their sophomore or junior years, particularly Native American and Latino/Latina students.
The official name of the HSU initiative is the Undergraduate Research Mentoring in the Biological Sciences (URM) Program, aimed at increasing the number of students from underrepresented groups who graduate in the biologically-related sciences. It is also designed to expedite the transition into graduate studies.
The URM Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds HSU’s counterpart, was established to broaden the participation of historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering. The NSF defines the historically underrepresented in those disciplines as African Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Pacific Islanders and persons with disabilities.
Biological Sciences Professor Bruce O’Gara said, “One of the great things about this program is that the students will be involved in an intense, long-term mentoring and research relationship with an individual HSU faculty member. This experience will give them a competitive advantage when they apply to graduate school. Another thing I’m very happy about is that we can pay the students a stipend that will put a substantial dent in the financial burden of paying for a college education.”
Added Wildlife Management Professor and Chair Matthew Johnson, “This program provides $24,000 scholarships to help undergraduates finish their degrees and conduct collaborative research with a faculty mentor. The research and training opportunities in this program will provide a springboard for students to launch their careers as biologists.”
Twenty-three students will be enrolled in four cohorts, five of them in the first year and six in each of the succeeding years. Each student will receive financial and research support for a period of two calendar years, with most students starting the program at the beginning of their sophomore year. A stipend of $1,000/month will be paid to each student during the 24 months of his or her participation. Students will enter the program in the summer and proceed through a series of three rotations to explore various research projects and meet prospective research mentors. During their first fall semester, students will enroll in a Research Methods Course that will cover the scientific method, study design, proposal preparation, scientific writing and presentation. Each student will develop a detailed research proposal for a project to be pursued for the remainder of the program. Student research will be mentored individually by one of 16 faculty from six departments (Biological Sciences, Fisheries, Forestry and Wildland Resources, Mathematics, Oceanography and Wildlife) in HSU’s College of Natural Resources and Sciences. Faculty research areas will be grouped in three categories: ecology and evolution; physiology, cell and molecular biology; and natural resource management.
Students will be offered a variety of courses, seminars, workshops, presentations and activities that will comprise the foundation and structure to foster success.
Details are available from Dr. O’Gara at bao3@humboldt.edu. The program Web site is at http://www.humboldt.edu/~urm/.
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/23/09
Arcata
Humboldt State University will enroll its first group of under-represented students next summer under a five-year, $892,000 National Science Foundation grant to mentor undergraduate research in the biological sciences.
Of the nearly $900,000 total, $318,000 will be awarded the first two years. Preference will be given to students entering their sophomore or junior years, particularly Native American and Latino/Latina students.
The official name of the HSU initiative is the Undergraduate Research Mentoring in the Biological Sciences (URM) Program, aimed at increasing the number of students from underrepresented groups who graduate in the biologically-related sciences. It is also designed to expedite the transition into graduate studies.
The URM Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds HSU’s counterpart, was established to broaden the participation of historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering. The NSF defines the historically underrepresented in those disciplines as African Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Pacific Islanders and persons with disabilities.
Biological Sciences Professor Bruce O’Gara said, “One of the great things about this program is that the students will be involved in an intense, long-term mentoring and research relationship with an individual HSU faculty member. This experience will give them a competitive advantage when they apply to graduate school. Another thing I’m very happy about is that we can pay the students a stipend that will put a substantial dent in the financial burden of paying for a college education.”
Added Wildlife Management Professor and Chair Matthew Johnson, “This program provides $24,000 scholarships to help undergraduates finish their degrees and conduct collaborative research with a faculty mentor. The research and training opportunities in this program will provide a springboard for students to launch their careers as biologists.”
Twenty-three students will be enrolled in four cohorts, five of them in the first year and six in each of the succeeding years. Each student will receive financial and research support for a period of two calendar years, with most students starting the program at the beginning of their sophomore year. A stipend of $1,000/month will be paid to each student during the 24 months of his or her participation. Students will enter the program in the summer and proceed through a series of three rotations to explore various research projects and meet prospective research mentors. During their first fall semester, students will enroll in a Research Methods Course that will cover the scientific method, study design, proposal preparation, scientific writing and presentation. Each student will develop a detailed research proposal for a project to be pursued for the remainder of the program. Student research will be mentored individually by one of 16 faculty from six departments (Biological Sciences, Fisheries, Forestry and Wildland Resources, Mathematics, Oceanography and Wildlife) in HSU’s College of Natural Resources and Sciences. Faculty research areas will be grouped in three categories: ecology and evolution; physiology, cell and molecular biology; and natural resource management.
Students will be offered a variety of courses, seminars, workshops, presentations and activities that will comprise the foundation and structure to foster success.
Details are available from Dr. O’Gara at bao3@humboldt.edu. The program Web site is at http://www.humboldt.edu/~urm/.
Monday, September 21, 2009
HSU to test emergency system
Thursday's exercise to include texting registered cell phones
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/21/09
Arcata
Humboldt State University will conduct a 15-minute test of its Emergency Alert System on Thursday, September 24, from 10:45 to 11 a.m. Thursday’s exercise will be a drill only and no evacuations will be ordered.
Special red “Test Today” signs will be posted at key locations around campus, HSU’s clock tower bells will sound from 10:45 until 11 a.m. and registered cell phones will buzz with simulated text messages.
The same signs, ringing and messaging would be used in the event of an actual emergency.
As part of the drill, University authorities encourage everyone to use three additional sources of information: via the web at http://www.humboldt.edu/emergency, by telephone recording at 707/826-INFO (4636) and by tuning in KHSU 90.5 FM.
Maximum use of these sources will enable campus administrators to evaluate the Emergency Alert System’s capacity and improve its operation as appropriate.
At the conclusion of the drill, comments on the system’s operation and effectiveness can be submitted at a dedicated web address, response@humboldt.edu.
Instructions for registering cell phones to obtain emergency text messages are available at http://www.humboldt.edu/emergency.
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/21/09
Arcata
Humboldt State University will conduct a 15-minute test of its Emergency Alert System on Thursday, September 24, from 10:45 to 11 a.m. Thursday’s exercise will be a drill only and no evacuations will be ordered.
Special red “Test Today” signs will be posted at key locations around campus, HSU’s clock tower bells will sound from 10:45 until 11 a.m. and registered cell phones will buzz with simulated text messages.
The same signs, ringing and messaging would be used in the event of an actual emergency.
As part of the drill, University authorities encourage everyone to use three additional sources of information: via the web at http://www.humboldt.edu/emergency, by telephone recording at 707/826-INFO (4636) and by tuning in KHSU 90.5 FM.
Maximum use of these sources will enable campus administrators to evaluate the Emergency Alert System’s capacity and improve its operation as appropriate.
At the conclusion of the drill, comments on the system’s operation and effectiveness can be submitted at a dedicated web address, response@humboldt.edu.
Instructions for registering cell phones to obtain emergency text messages are available at http://www.humboldt.edu/emergency.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Decommissioned naval base looted
$39,000 worth of heavy equipment stolen
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/18/09
Centerville
Local law enforcement is investigating a grand theft reported this weekend at the decommissioned Centerville Beach Naval Station west of Ferndale.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was contacted on Monday by a demolition crew hired by the feds to continue decommissioning work. Over the weekend while the crew was off-base, several vehicles and pieces of heavy machinery were stolen, likely through a security fence which had been cut, according to HCSO public information officer Brenda Godey.
The crew estimated the value of the stolen property at approximately $39,000. This includes a 1991 Bobcat 553 Skid Steer Loader, colored white, orange and black. The Bobcat had an attached custom-made grapple bucket, and the tires on the Bobcat are Setco brand solid (hard rubber) tires. Also stolen was a Multiquip 25KVA generator on wheels, and a 1998 Towmaster trailer, 24 feet long with a bamboo deck, black in color, with "NWDD" on a stainless steel plate that is attached to the front frame rail of the trailer. The trailer displays Oregon License plate HS34108. The trailer is used to transport the Bobcat.
Anyone with additional information on this case can contact the HCSO at (707) 445-7251.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/18/09
Centerville
Local law enforcement is investigating a grand theft reported this weekend at the decommissioned Centerville Beach Naval Station west of Ferndale.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was contacted on Monday by a demolition crew hired by the feds to continue decommissioning work. Over the weekend while the crew was off-base, several vehicles and pieces of heavy machinery were stolen, likely through a security fence which had been cut, according to HCSO public information officer Brenda Godey.
The crew estimated the value of the stolen property at approximately $39,000. This includes a 1991 Bobcat 553 Skid Steer Loader, colored white, orange and black. The Bobcat had an attached custom-made grapple bucket, and the tires on the Bobcat are Setco brand solid (hard rubber) tires. Also stolen was a Multiquip 25KVA generator on wheels, and a 1998 Towmaster trailer, 24 feet long with a bamboo deck, black in color, with "NWDD" on a stainless steel plate that is attached to the front frame rail of the trailer. The trailer displays Oregon License plate HS34108. The trailer is used to transport the Bobcat.
Anyone with additional information on this case can contact the HCSO at (707) 445-7251.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Eureka residency rule sinks Mayor's nominees
Councilmembers Glass, Atkins block appointments to Planning Commission, Housing Board
David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
9/17/09
Eureka
An ongoing battle over appointments to city commissions dominated Tuesday's Eureka City Council meeting, as Linda Atkins and Larry Glass teamed up to kill several of Mayor Virginia Bass' nominations to key boards.
Atkins said she had a problem with appointing non-residents and Glass protested two veteran planning commissioners should have been reappointed, prompting them to cast several critical votes against some of the nominees.
“"I'm concerned we're breaking precedent by not reappointing two people who served and wanted to continue,"” said Glass. “While I rarely agree with them I would say they have served admirably and they bring a lot to the table.”"
Bass and councilmembers Mike Jones and Frank Jager, who had interviewed candidates, countered that the nominees were as knowledgeable as the two who hadn't been reappointed, and hadn't been chosen lightly.
“"This is certainly not to say we weren't satisfied with what (incumbents) were doing, but giving somebody else a chance is one of the reasons we have term limits,"” said Jager. "“It was just our opinion these individuals should be given a chance.”"
But the city's rule that non-resident nominees need four votes in support instead of a simple majority of three worked against Roger Peters, Andrew Redden and Lee Ulansey as Atkins and Glass voted against their nominations. Jones, Jager and Jeff Leonard cast the votes in support. Bass could not vote for her own nominees.
County residents who own businesses in Eureka or live in the city's community services district can serve on city commissions and boards. Peters had been nominated for the Housing Authority Board and Ulansey for the Planning Commission.
Atkins and Glass also voted against Jeff Regan's appointment to the Planning Commission, but since he is a Eureka resident, votes to approve from Jones, Jager and Leonard carried. The council also voted 4-1 with Glass dissenting to appoint Sue McDonald to the Open Spaces, Parks & Recreation Commission.
Kay Escarda, James Matthias, Richard Muse, Robert Fasic and Lance Madsen all got unanimous votes. Escarda, Matthias and Muse were appointed to the Housing Authority; Fasic and Madsen will keep their seats on the Redevelopment Advisory Board, which has only met once this year.
In addition
Glass agreed to table his rental housing license bill until the first meeting in October. Glass and a task force have been working for months on the ordinance, which aims to reduce blighted housing that contributes to crime.
Jones, Jager and Leonard raised concerns that it wasn't clear whether people who rented rooms in single family homes, mother-in law units and flophouses were excluded from the licensing.
David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
9/17/09
Eureka
An ongoing battle over appointments to city commissions dominated Tuesday's Eureka City Council meeting, as Linda Atkins and Larry Glass teamed up to kill several of Mayor Virginia Bass' nominations to key boards.
Atkins said she had a problem with appointing non-residents and Glass protested two veteran planning commissioners should have been reappointed, prompting them to cast several critical votes against some of the nominees.
“"I'm concerned we're breaking precedent by not reappointing two people who served and wanted to continue,"” said Glass. “While I rarely agree with them I would say they have served admirably and they bring a lot to the table.”"
Bass and councilmembers Mike Jones and Frank Jager, who had interviewed candidates, countered that the nominees were as knowledgeable as the two who hadn't been reappointed, and hadn't been chosen lightly.
“"This is certainly not to say we weren't satisfied with what (incumbents) were doing, but giving somebody else a chance is one of the reasons we have term limits,"” said Jager. "“It was just our opinion these individuals should be given a chance.”"
But the city's rule that non-resident nominees need four votes in support instead of a simple majority of three worked against Roger Peters, Andrew Redden and Lee Ulansey as Atkins and Glass voted against their nominations. Jones, Jager and Jeff Leonard cast the votes in support. Bass could not vote for her own nominees.
County residents who own businesses in Eureka or live in the city's community services district can serve on city commissions and boards. Peters had been nominated for the Housing Authority Board and Ulansey for the Planning Commission.
Atkins and Glass also voted against Jeff Regan's appointment to the Planning Commission, but since he is a Eureka resident, votes to approve from Jones, Jager and Leonard carried. The council also voted 4-1 with Glass dissenting to appoint Sue McDonald to the Open Spaces, Parks & Recreation Commission.
Kay Escarda, James Matthias, Richard Muse, Robert Fasic and Lance Madsen all got unanimous votes. Escarda, Matthias and Muse were appointed to the Housing Authority; Fasic and Madsen will keep their seats on the Redevelopment Advisory Board, which has only met once this year.
In addition
Glass agreed to table his rental housing license bill until the first meeting in October. Glass and a task force have been working for months on the ordinance, which aims to reduce blighted housing that contributes to crime.
Jones, Jager and Leonard raised concerns that it wasn't clear whether people who rented rooms in single family homes, mother-in law units and flophouses were excluded from the licensing.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
In the stir for breathing air
Tad Robinson presents a case study in Humboldt County’s government-by-fear
Vagabond Journalist
By Charles Douglas
“Liberty is the soul's right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight. Without liberty, man is in a syncope.”
-Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts
Sitting in Courtroom 5 this Monday watching homeless agitator Tad Robinson get his thirty-days-for-thirty-seconds violation of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ oft-unenforced three minute speaking rule (a dictum which, sadly, is seldom applied against their sycophants), I was reminded of my days in Arcata watching another local government ratcheting up the mania in increasingly desperate attempts to make the poor sit down and shut up.
In Arcata City Hall, just as in Supervisors’ Chambers, the progression of rich man’s inhumanity to poor man eventually involved the armed forces being called in to forcibly remove people who exceed the paltry three-minute rule, a rule these self-same elected officials would find it impossible to obey themselves. Needless to say, the so-called Greens like Harmony Groves left their commitment to “grassroots democracy” at the door and sat silently as a homeless man back in 2006 was drug out by the gendarmeries for violating the inviolable terms of local government -- namely that money talks (and for as long as it likes) and the penniless are right-less when it comes to any of their pathetic attempts to influence public policy away from putative revenge fantasies against the least among us.
When the blatantly ridiculous claims of Arcata’s liberality are voiced in my presence, I only need remind them of how the “Green majority” allowed the press box at Arcata City Council meetings to be removed, without notice, to be replaced by an armed police officer, hand on holster, seated and staring at the public address podium situated two feet away, an obvious display of state authority and local officials’ willingness to resort to violence (or the threat of such) to compel consent.
The press table turned goon squad guard post is still there to this day, a testament to how “progressive” Arcata is ruled by fear, and how the high ideals of the Green Party were absolutely polluted and perverted by the very same officials who still claim to have accomplished something. It’s just the sort of self-aggrandizement still practiced by the aforementioned ex-Mayor, since absconded to San Francisco with another content-free notch in her belt to brag about, regardless of how little her one-term-and-out service actually did to help the working people of her short-lived constituency. As with so many of the self-styled “successful activists” turn out, it’s the window dressing on their resumes that count with them, on-the-ground evidence be damned.
Throughout history as in the present day, the real activists take on the longshot or “impossible” causes, and get fined, jailed, beaten and killed for their efforts. Such is the case with Tad, someone I’ve had no shortage of head-shaking moments in relation to – sometimes even I find him to be strident and doctrinaire in his efforts to humanize the homeless. His past and mine aside, his actions in this case are indisputable: He was interrupted repeatedly by elected officials who didn’t like what he had to say in relation to a child labor camp (an incredibly creepy outfit the county contracts with), he went a half-minute over his time limit trying to finish his interrupted statement, and he had already sat down when the goon squad came to grab him. The idea that the meeting was interrupted shock-and-awe style, complete with Lady Liberty weeping tears of blood and American flags spontaneously combusting, doesn’t stand up to the evidence as witnessed by the non-government shills present, who clearly noted that the next speaker strode up to the podium and proceeded to address the Supervisors normally (and for over five minutes, a blatant example of selective enforcement).
I’ve wanted Tad to shut up myself once or twice (I’m sure he’s thought the same of me), but it’s never crossed my mind that he should be fined and thrown in jail for the offense of annoying me or anybody else. For the stupor-inducing Supervisors to conspire with Humboldt County’s bureaucracy, bailiffs and judiciary to make this sick joke come true -- it's enough to make Kafka blush. I can already envision a “Free Tad” benefit concert with a local John Lennon aspirant or two singing a takeoff of “Ten For Two” to decry the treatment of this John Sinclairesque poster boy for open government.
Any amount of peace poor old Jimmy Smith thinks he will spare for his fellow nest feather collectors will be far exceeded by the echo this will send to local activists of every stripe -- at least the ones who claim to care about free speech. The decent, who I’d add include conservative or libertarian types like Rose Welsh, Tom Frederickson and Jeff Lytle, not to mention others more akin to my sort of radical journalist like John Osborn, are suitably outraged by this government-run abuse of the justice system. The authoritarians among us are mostly clustered amongst the fake left pseudo-liberals, who are uniform in their cowardly use of psudeonyms such as Humbug, Not A Native and so forth. Somehow this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.
Years ago, when I still thought people in Arcata might care about having a decent local government, I proposed an initiative seeking the usual populist political reforms like term limits, public election of the Mayor and Vice Mayor, and access to time on the City Council agenda by any of its members. There was also a provision which doubled the three-minute limit on speaking time, and applied it to the politicians and bureaucrats equally. If it’s good enough for the rest of us, it’s good enough for them, my thinking was. While there’s enough on my plate to preclude the hatching of ballot initiatives these days, perhaps some other idealist out there might consider a little restorative justice for our power-mad Humboldt County Supervisors.
“It ain't fair, John Sinclair
In the stir for breathing air
Won't you care for John Sinclair?
In the stir for breathing air
Let him be, set him free
Let him be like you and me
They gave him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
If he'd been a soldier man
Shooting gooks in Vietnam
If he was the CIA
Selling dope and making hay
He'd be free, they'd let him be
Breathing air, like you and me
They gave him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
They gave him ten for two
They got Ali Otis too.
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
Was he jailed for what he done?
Or representing everyone
Free John now, if we can
From the clutches of the man
Let him be, lift the lid
Bring him to his wife and kids
They gave him ten for two
What else can the bastards do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free.”
-John Lennon, Ten For Two (John Sinclair)
Vagabond Journalist
By Charles Douglas
“Liberty is the soul's right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight. Without liberty, man is in a syncope.”
-Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts
Sitting in Courtroom 5 this Monday watching homeless agitator Tad Robinson get his thirty-days-for-thirty-seconds violation of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ oft-unenforced three minute speaking rule (a dictum which, sadly, is seldom applied against their sycophants), I was reminded of my days in Arcata watching another local government ratcheting up the mania in increasingly desperate attempts to make the poor sit down and shut up.
In Arcata City Hall, just as in Supervisors’ Chambers, the progression of rich man’s inhumanity to poor man eventually involved the armed forces being called in to forcibly remove people who exceed the paltry three-minute rule, a rule these self-same elected officials would find it impossible to obey themselves. Needless to say, the so-called Greens like Harmony Groves left their commitment to “grassroots democracy” at the door and sat silently as a homeless man back in 2006 was drug out by the gendarmeries for violating the inviolable terms of local government -- namely that money talks (and for as long as it likes) and the penniless are right-less when it comes to any of their pathetic attempts to influence public policy away from putative revenge fantasies against the least among us.
When the blatantly ridiculous claims of Arcata’s liberality are voiced in my presence, I only need remind them of how the “Green majority” allowed the press box at Arcata City Council meetings to be removed, without notice, to be replaced by an armed police officer, hand on holster, seated and staring at the public address podium situated two feet away, an obvious display of state authority and local officials’ willingness to resort to violence (or the threat of such) to compel consent.
The press table turned goon squad guard post is still there to this day, a testament to how “progressive” Arcata is ruled by fear, and how the high ideals of the Green Party were absolutely polluted and perverted by the very same officials who still claim to have accomplished something. It’s just the sort of self-aggrandizement still practiced by the aforementioned ex-Mayor, since absconded to San Francisco with another content-free notch in her belt to brag about, regardless of how little her one-term-and-out service actually did to help the working people of her short-lived constituency. As with so many of the self-styled “successful activists” turn out, it’s the window dressing on their resumes that count with them, on-the-ground evidence be damned.
Throughout history as in the present day, the real activists take on the longshot or “impossible” causes, and get fined, jailed, beaten and killed for their efforts. Such is the case with Tad, someone I’ve had no shortage of head-shaking moments in relation to – sometimes even I find him to be strident and doctrinaire in his efforts to humanize the homeless. His past and mine aside, his actions in this case are indisputable: He was interrupted repeatedly by elected officials who didn’t like what he had to say in relation to a child labor camp (an incredibly creepy outfit the county contracts with), he went a half-minute over his time limit trying to finish his interrupted statement, and he had already sat down when the goon squad came to grab him. The idea that the meeting was interrupted shock-and-awe style, complete with Lady Liberty weeping tears of blood and American flags spontaneously combusting, doesn’t stand up to the evidence as witnessed by the non-government shills present, who clearly noted that the next speaker strode up to the podium and proceeded to address the Supervisors normally (and for over five minutes, a blatant example of selective enforcement).
I’ve wanted Tad to shut up myself once or twice (I’m sure he’s thought the same of me), but it’s never crossed my mind that he should be fined and thrown in jail for the offense of annoying me or anybody else. For the stupor-inducing Supervisors to conspire with Humboldt County’s bureaucracy, bailiffs and judiciary to make this sick joke come true -- it's enough to make Kafka blush. I can already envision a “Free Tad” benefit concert with a local John Lennon aspirant or two singing a takeoff of “Ten For Two” to decry the treatment of this John Sinclairesque poster boy for open government.
Any amount of peace poor old Jimmy Smith thinks he will spare for his fellow nest feather collectors will be far exceeded by the echo this will send to local activists of every stripe -- at least the ones who claim to care about free speech. The decent, who I’d add include conservative or libertarian types like Rose Welsh, Tom Frederickson and Jeff Lytle, not to mention others more akin to my sort of radical journalist like John Osborn, are suitably outraged by this government-run abuse of the justice system. The authoritarians among us are mostly clustered amongst the fake left pseudo-liberals, who are uniform in their cowardly use of psudeonyms such as Humbug, Not A Native and so forth. Somehow this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.
Years ago, when I still thought people in Arcata might care about having a decent local government, I proposed an initiative seeking the usual populist political reforms like term limits, public election of the Mayor and Vice Mayor, and access to time on the City Council agenda by any of its members. There was also a provision which doubled the three-minute limit on speaking time, and applied it to the politicians and bureaucrats equally. If it’s good enough for the rest of us, it’s good enough for them, my thinking was. While there’s enough on my plate to preclude the hatching of ballot initiatives these days, perhaps some other idealist out there might consider a little restorative justice for our power-mad Humboldt County Supervisors.
“It ain't fair, John Sinclair
In the stir for breathing air
Won't you care for John Sinclair?
In the stir for breathing air
Let him be, set him free
Let him be like you and me
They gave him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
If he'd been a soldier man
Shooting gooks in Vietnam
If he was the CIA
Selling dope and making hay
He'd be free, they'd let him be
Breathing air, like you and me
They gave him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
They gave him ten for two
They got Ali Otis too.
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
Was he jailed for what he done?
Or representing everyone
Free John now, if we can
From the clutches of the man
Let him be, lift the lid
Bring him to his wife and kids
They gave him ten for two
What else can the bastards do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free.”
-John Lennon, Ten For Two (John Sinclair)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Heroin, coke found on fleeing suspect
Michael David Woody attempted to speed away from Third Street bust
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/10/09
Eureka
A man who fled after a Eureka police officer stopped him for a traffic violation has been jailed for drug charges.
Michael David Woody has been busted for transporting a controlled substance, resisting arrest and evading a police officer who pulled him over near K and Third streets. When Woody admitted having marijuana in the car, the officer opened the driver's side door so Woody could step out while the officer searched the car.
Woody instead slammed the door shut and started the ignition, speeding off as the officer fired taser darts at him. After a short chase Woody and his passenger were arrested at S and Sixth streets. The passenger was later released.
A search of the car turned up four bindles of heroin and three bindles what is thought to be cocaine.
Grow house triple bust in Arcata
Grow house triple bust in Arcata
Residence on Janes Road within 150 feet of school
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/10/09
Arcata
Even under the Humboldt County ordinance protecting the right of patients and caregivers to grow medical marijuana, it’s not supposed to be done near an elementary school.
This provision apparently escaped the attention of Steven Robert Malocq, who police are looking for in connection to a string of grow houses raided by the Arcata Police Department in coordination with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force on Wednesday.
The old Bloomfield Elementary School, still considered an educational facility even though it no longer serves students in the Arcata School District following budget-induced consolidation, is less than 150 feet from a house Mialocq owns on the 3000 block of Janes Road. His other house at the 3700 block of Coombs Court was also searched, and approximately 270 marijuana plants were seized from the homes. Each house had converted living space into marijuana grow rooms, with unpermitted electrical modifications made at both places, according to APD captain Tom Chapman.
Mialocq was not arrested and is apparently out of the area, and an arrest warrant is being sought against him on charges of cultivation, possession for sale and drug house charges. He may face additional charges due to his home’s proximity to the closed school.
Officers also served a search warrant in the 200 block of G Street after it was discovered that power to the home was being obtained illegally by tapping into an electrical line. APD and DTF officered discovered 163 marijuana plants and five pounds of processed marijuana, although none were present on site. APD considers this an ongoing investigation, and have declined to disclose the name of the homeowner or renter involved in this grow.
Residence on Janes Road within 150 feet of school
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/10/09
Arcata
Even under the Humboldt County ordinance protecting the right of patients and caregivers to grow medical marijuana, it’s not supposed to be done near an elementary school.
This provision apparently escaped the attention of Steven Robert Malocq, who police are looking for in connection to a string of grow houses raided by the Arcata Police Department in coordination with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force on Wednesday.
The old Bloomfield Elementary School, still considered an educational facility even though it no longer serves students in the Arcata School District following budget-induced consolidation, is less than 150 feet from a house Mialocq owns on the 3000 block of Janes Road. His other house at the 3700 block of Coombs Court was also searched, and approximately 270 marijuana plants were seized from the homes. Each house had converted living space into marijuana grow rooms, with unpermitted electrical modifications made at both places, according to APD captain Tom Chapman.
Mialocq was not arrested and is apparently out of the area, and an arrest warrant is being sought against him on charges of cultivation, possession for sale and drug house charges. He may face additional charges due to his home’s proximity to the closed school.
Officers also served a search warrant in the 200 block of G Street after it was discovered that power to the home was being obtained illegally by tapping into an electrical line. APD and DTF officered discovered 163 marijuana plants and five pounds of processed marijuana, although none were present on site. APD considers this an ongoing investigation, and have declined to disclose the name of the homeowner or renter involved in this grow.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Gunshot victim from Trinidad identified
William Lundy’s vehicle found in
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/9/09
A man now identified as 59-year-old William John Lundy was shot dead, according to an autopsy conducted Monday by the Humboldt County Coroner.
Meanwhile, Sheriff’s investigators are flying to the
It was the welfare check request by
The HCSO is not releasing how many times or where on his body Lundy was shot. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call detective Cheryl Franco at (707) 268-3644.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
One reason Democrats don’t do better
Voters don’t like being called stupid for holding legitimate concerns
Sam Smith, Progressive Review
9/8/09
Someone in Obama Spin Central made a bad mistake: attempting to push a politicized lesson plan for elementary school kids to use following the president's speech to them on TV. It wasn't all that important in itself but symbolizes an apparent desire in some quarters to replace Muzak in our lives with the sound of all Obama all the time.
The lesson plan included such tacky political recommendations as having students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president."
Elsewhere the lesson plan suggested sample questions including, "Is President Obama inspiring you to do anything?" and, "Is he challenging you to do anything?"
Once the plan was exposed (and the Review was about the only progressive journal to help in this), The White House quickly dumped some of the objectionable language. For example, the plan now suggests that students "write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals."
The spinmeisters pulled out a classic non-apology. Said one, "That was inartfully worded, and we corrected it."
But other Democrats were not content to correct and move on. Instead they tried to rewrite the script so that it was only about the president giving a speech. Nothing about the crummy lesson plan.
And the liberal media joined the fray. MSNBC's John Harwood, for example, badly misstated the issue by claiming, "I’ve been watching politics for a long time, and this one is really over-the-top. What it shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy, and let’s face it, in a country of 300 million people, there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that it’s somehow unhealthy for kids, for the president to say "work hard and stay in school," you’re stupid." Nothing about the lesson plan.
Now it's true the Republicans and conservatives leaped on the issue as could be expected. But the Democratic and liberal media tried to argue that all those opposed were in this camp as well.
This reflects a growing Democratic tendency, whether the issue be end of life decisions, gun control, or politicized lesson plans issued by the president's staff, to treat all those opposed to the Democrats as stupid conservatives.
And since that isn't true, the Democrats end up insulting an awful lot of people who just don't happen to agree with them on one issue. People like school superintendents who have decided not to run the speech because of its political context or parents who are also troubled by it.
Take for instance Vasselboro Maine parent, Micki Stetson, whose two children attend Vassalboro Community School. According to the Morning Sentinel, "Stetson said it's great that the president is giving a pep talk to students and that children will look at this as 'sort of a good thing, something they will remember,' but that 'the department was overstepping its boundaries. I believe the questions asked were advocating an ideology, as opposed to a critical approach. They shouldn't be asking a child how this figure inspired you. What if the figure didn't inspire them? That's political propaganda, and I don't believe that should be portrayed in the school."
Do John Harwood and the Daily Kos think Micki Stetson is stupid?
What good does it do to assign such a name to those who happen to disagree with you on one issue? Especially when even the White House tacitly admitted they were right by removing the objectionable language?
And if they do think they were stupid, would this category include the former Democratic House majority leader Dick Gephart who in 1991 said of a George H. W Bush speech at a Washington junior high school, "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students."
You start calling people stupid for disagreeing with you on a few issues and there's no telling who will end up in the pot. And every one is less likely to vote the way you want after they've heard your low opinion of them.
Sam Smith, Progressive Review
9/8/09
Someone in Obama Spin Central made a bad mistake: attempting to push a politicized lesson plan for elementary school kids to use following the president's speech to them on TV. It wasn't all that important in itself but symbolizes an apparent desire in some quarters to replace Muzak in our lives with the sound of all Obama all the time.
The lesson plan included such tacky political recommendations as having students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president."
Elsewhere the lesson plan suggested sample questions including, "Is President Obama inspiring you to do anything?" and, "Is he challenging you to do anything?"
Once the plan was exposed (and the Review was about the only progressive journal to help in this), The White House quickly dumped some of the objectionable language. For example, the plan now suggests that students "write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals."
The spinmeisters pulled out a classic non-apology. Said one, "That was inartfully worded, and we corrected it."
But other Democrats were not content to correct and move on. Instead they tried to rewrite the script so that it was only about the president giving a speech. Nothing about the crummy lesson plan.
And the liberal media joined the fray. MSNBC's John Harwood, for example, badly misstated the issue by claiming, "I’ve been watching politics for a long time, and this one is really over-the-top. What it shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy, and let’s face it, in a country of 300 million people, there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that it’s somehow unhealthy for kids, for the president to say "work hard and stay in school," you’re stupid." Nothing about the lesson plan.
Now it's true the Republicans and conservatives leaped on the issue as could be expected. But the Democratic and liberal media tried to argue that all those opposed were in this camp as well.
This reflects a growing Democratic tendency, whether the issue be end of life decisions, gun control, or politicized lesson plans issued by the president's staff, to treat all those opposed to the Democrats as stupid conservatives.
And since that isn't true, the Democrats end up insulting an awful lot of people who just don't happen to agree with them on one issue. People like school superintendents who have decided not to run the speech because of its political context or parents who are also troubled by it.
Take for instance Vasselboro Maine parent, Micki Stetson, whose two children attend Vassalboro Community School. According to the Morning Sentinel, "Stetson said it's great that the president is giving a pep talk to students and that children will look at this as 'sort of a good thing, something they will remember,' but that 'the department was overstepping its boundaries. I believe the questions asked were advocating an ideology, as opposed to a critical approach. They shouldn't be asking a child how this figure inspired you. What if the figure didn't inspire them? That's political propaganda, and I don't believe that should be portrayed in the school."
Do John Harwood and the Daily Kos think Micki Stetson is stupid?
What good does it do to assign such a name to those who happen to disagree with you on one issue? Especially when even the White House tacitly admitted they were right by removing the objectionable language?
And if they do think they were stupid, would this category include the former Democratic House majority leader Dick Gephart who in 1991 said of a George H. W Bush speech at a Washington junior high school, "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students."
You start calling people stupid for disagreeing with you on a few issues and there's no telling who will end up in the pot. And every one is less likely to vote the way you want after they've heard your low opinion of them.
Study highlights transit barriers to care
Poor are more than five times as likely to go without health care
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/8/09
Arcata
The Redwood Coast’s poor people, non-whites and thinly populated areas suffer disproportionately from transportation problems that diminish their access to health care, according to data drawn from the four-county region by the California Center for Rural Policy (CCRP) at Humboldt State University.
The center has published a new research brief, one of a series, that documents transportation disparities among 43 communities surveyed in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties. Those canvassed who have transportation problems were 2.6 times more likely to go without the health care they needed for themselves and their children, versus respondents free of transit obstacles.
Redwood residents below the federal poverty level ($20,444 for a family of two adults and two children in 2006) were 5.2 times more likely to do without health care and 11 times more likely to report no vehicle in the household.
Native Americans and non-whites were 1.7 times more likely to miss out on care and 2.5 times more likely to have no vehicle compared to white respondents. Other transportation obstacles included unreliable vehicles, lack of a driver’s license or telephone, no public transportation, insurmountable distances and weather and road conditions.
Survey respondents in low population areas—fewer than 50 people per square mile—were 1.6 times more likely to encounter transportation problems in obtaining care. One respondent said, “Can’t afford the gas, road trips are very rough on me and [the] baby at times, there is no public transportation and no babysitter.” Another said, “[I have to] travel to Santa Rosa (two tough hours) to get good quality specialty care.” A third commented, “Can’t afford to keep up on registration, insurance and gas.”
Rural residents usually must travel longer distances than urban populations to get treatment and the rural elderly are particularly hard hit, according to the CCRP’s brief, which was drawn from extensive findings of the Rural Health Information Survey that the CCRP conducted in the fall of 2006. Transportation shortages were long known to block access to health care, but the 2006 survey will enable political leaders, planners and policy makers to quantify the extent of the problem and pinpoint those populations and communities most in need.
The research brief says that in dealing with unmet transit needs, community leaders will have to balance the advantages of expanded availability—better access not only to health care, but also to jobs, goods, services and education—with drawbacks: vehicular accidents, noise, air pollution and lack of physical activity.
As the population ages, the brief states, innovative ways will have to be found to improve rural transportation and delivery of services, “since the elderly have the greatest difficulty with personal transportation and have the greatest need for frequent health care visits.”
The report recommends better coordination between transportation planners and health care facilities. It cites Indian health care systems, including Mendocino County’s Consolidated Tribal Health Clinic, which is financed through general funds from an eight-tribe alliance that provides trips to its clinic in Ukiah, Calif., to the Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., and to the University of California Medical Centers in San Francisco.
CCRP research data are available at www.humboldt.edu/~ccrp.
Paul Mann, Humboldt State University
9/8/09
Arcata
The Redwood Coast’s poor people, non-whites and thinly populated areas suffer disproportionately from transportation problems that diminish their access to health care, according to data drawn from the four-county region by the California Center for Rural Policy (CCRP) at Humboldt State University.
The center has published a new research brief, one of a series, that documents transportation disparities among 43 communities surveyed in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties. Those canvassed who have transportation problems were 2.6 times more likely to go without the health care they needed for themselves and their children, versus respondents free of transit obstacles.
Redwood residents below the federal poverty level ($20,444 for a family of two adults and two children in 2006) were 5.2 times more likely to do without health care and 11 times more likely to report no vehicle in the household.
Native Americans and non-whites were 1.7 times more likely to miss out on care and 2.5 times more likely to have no vehicle compared to white respondents. Other transportation obstacles included unreliable vehicles, lack of a driver’s license or telephone, no public transportation, insurmountable distances and weather and road conditions.
Survey respondents in low population areas—fewer than 50 people per square mile—were 1.6 times more likely to encounter transportation problems in obtaining care. One respondent said, “Can’t afford the gas, road trips are very rough on me and [the] baby at times, there is no public transportation and no babysitter.” Another said, “[I have to] travel to Santa Rosa (two tough hours) to get good quality specialty care.” A third commented, “Can’t afford to keep up on registration, insurance and gas.”
Rural residents usually must travel longer distances than urban populations to get treatment and the rural elderly are particularly hard hit, according to the CCRP’s brief, which was drawn from extensive findings of the Rural Health Information Survey that the CCRP conducted in the fall of 2006. Transportation shortages were long known to block access to health care, but the 2006 survey will enable political leaders, planners and policy makers to quantify the extent of the problem and pinpoint those populations and communities most in need.
The research brief says that in dealing with unmet transit needs, community leaders will have to balance the advantages of expanded availability—better access not only to health care, but also to jobs, goods, services and education—with drawbacks: vehicular accidents, noise, air pollution and lack of physical activity.
As the population ages, the brief states, innovative ways will have to be found to improve rural transportation and delivery of services, “since the elderly have the greatest difficulty with personal transportation and have the greatest need for frequent health care visits.”
The report recommends better coordination between transportation planners and health care facilities. It cites Indian health care systems, including Mendocino County’s Consolidated Tribal Health Clinic, which is financed through general funds from an eight-tribe alliance that provides trips to its clinic in Ukiah, Calif., to the Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., and to the University of California Medical Centers in San Francisco.
CCRP research data are available at www.humboldt.edu/~ccrp.
First BAMU chicken wing fest Saturday
Boomsauii, Sour Cream to play at free festival to fight meth
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/8/09
Business Owners Against Meth Use (BAMU) will have its first Chicken Wing Fest from 11 a.m. To 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 on Eureka’s boardwalk, at the foot of C Street.
The festival will feature live music by Boomsauii, Sour Cream and others; beer, soda and chicken wings and a bounce house for children.
The family-friendly event is being held to raise awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine and assist agencies that help for recovering users.
BAMU is a non-profit 501C 3 corporation created by local business owners, county officials and concerned citizens.
For more information, interviews or to learn how you can join the fight against meth, please contact Blaine Ryan at 442-7662.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/8/09
Business Owners Against Meth Use (BAMU) will have its first Chicken Wing Fest from 11 a.m. To 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 on Eureka’s boardwalk, at the foot of C Street.
The festival will feature live music by Boomsauii, Sour Cream and others; beer, soda and chicken wings and a bounce house for children.
The family-friendly event is being held to raise awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine and assist agencies that help for recovering users.
BAMU is a non-profit 501C 3 corporation created by local business owners, county officials and concerned citizens.
For more information, interviews or to learn how you can join the fight against meth, please contact Blaine Ryan at 442-7662.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Single payer backers confront Thompson
Town Hall was Congressman’s first unscripted Humboldt appearance in 2009
David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
9/7/09
Eureka
A crowd of about 300 people largely supportive of health care reform packed the Home Economics building Tuesday, Sept. 2 at Redwood Acres for a town hall meeting with one of its proponents, Congressman Mike Thompson.
“I appreciate the great turnout, I appreciate it's a very vexing issue and feelings are running high,” Thompson said as he sent two aides into the crowd with microphones. “I'd really like to hear what you think we can do to improve health care.”
Over the last several years, Thompson has managed to resist calls for in-person town hall meetings in Humboldt County on topics as diverse as the Iraq War, the torture of detainees and proposed cap-and-trade taxation on carbon. Yet the August recess, the string of highly publicized town hall meetings across the country and the protest marches on his own Third Street office pressured the five-term representative to actually show up in person, instead of over the telephone.
For the next 90 minutes people, several of whom made said they wanted a single payer system that isn't even included among any of the health care reform bills currently being considered in Congress, made it clear they want Thompson to vote for legislation with a public option.
“On the public option, the three House (of Representatives) bills have that option in it,” Thompson said. “I like the idea, because I think we need to do something to inspire competition among insurance companies.”
Several times Thompson had to ask the audience to stop cheering, booing or applauding speakers, many of whom wanted to make long speeches. Thompson cut off one man who launched into a diatribe about immigration reform.
Thompson made sure opponents to health care reform, who were in the minority among the crowd, got a chance to express their views as well, including one who told Thompson “there is no natural right” to health care.
“It is a natural right, and I want it!” yelled from another man, who was escorted out of the building by Humboldt County Sheriff's deputy after repeatedly interrupting the first man.
“Nobody is going to try to take away anybody's health care plan,” Thompson assured the crowd several times, adding he supports letting insurance plans follow people from job to job. “As I said before, if you like what you've got, you can keep it.”
The system for delivering health care, Thompson said repeatedly, needs a drastic overhaul.
“One out of every six dollars we make in this country goes to health care -- it's not sustainable,” Thompson said. “It's going to crush businesses in this country… To even think that the model we have now is sustainable is wrong.”
Thompson compared the proposed health care reform to requiring motorists carry auto insurance, but doesn't force a particular policy on them.
“Everyone in this discussion and this debate in Washington, D.C. has been very clear on the fact that if you like the insurance you have, you keep the insurance you have,” Thompson said, noting he wants a bill that pays for health care reform without adding to the national debt.
Unlike certain states that mandate auto insurance, however, legal scholars argue that the federal Constitution does not grant Congress the authority to force individuals to do business with any particular business cartel.
Although Thompson ruled out the single payer system, declaring it completely off the table, he also discounted offering health insurance through cooperatives, as is done in the state of Washington.
“If you're shaking you're head, you know more than me, because I don't know what a co-op is,” said Thompson.
David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
9/7/09
Eureka
A crowd of about 300 people largely supportive of health care reform packed the Home Economics building Tuesday, Sept. 2 at Redwood Acres for a town hall meeting with one of its proponents, Congressman Mike Thompson.
“I appreciate the great turnout, I appreciate it's a very vexing issue and feelings are running high,” Thompson said as he sent two aides into the crowd with microphones. “I'd really like to hear what you think we can do to improve health care.”
Over the last several years, Thompson has managed to resist calls for in-person town hall meetings in Humboldt County on topics as diverse as the Iraq War, the torture of detainees and proposed cap-and-trade taxation on carbon. Yet the August recess, the string of highly publicized town hall meetings across the country and the protest marches on his own Third Street office pressured the five-term representative to actually show up in person, instead of over the telephone.
For the next 90 minutes people, several of whom made said they wanted a single payer system that isn't even included among any of the health care reform bills currently being considered in Congress, made it clear they want Thompson to vote for legislation with a public option.
“On the public option, the three House (of Representatives) bills have that option in it,” Thompson said. “I like the idea, because I think we need to do something to inspire competition among insurance companies.”
Several times Thompson had to ask the audience to stop cheering, booing or applauding speakers, many of whom wanted to make long speeches. Thompson cut off one man who launched into a diatribe about immigration reform.
Thompson made sure opponents to health care reform, who were in the minority among the crowd, got a chance to express their views as well, including one who told Thompson “there is no natural right” to health care.
“It is a natural right, and I want it!” yelled from another man, who was escorted out of the building by Humboldt County Sheriff's deputy after repeatedly interrupting the first man.
“Nobody is going to try to take away anybody's health care plan,” Thompson assured the crowd several times, adding he supports letting insurance plans follow people from job to job. “As I said before, if you like what you've got, you can keep it.”
The system for delivering health care, Thompson said repeatedly, needs a drastic overhaul.
“One out of every six dollars we make in this country goes to health care -- it's not sustainable,” Thompson said. “It's going to crush businesses in this country… To even think that the model we have now is sustainable is wrong.”
Thompson compared the proposed health care reform to requiring motorists carry auto insurance, but doesn't force a particular policy on them.
“Everyone in this discussion and this debate in Washington, D.C. has been very clear on the fact that if you like the insurance you have, you keep the insurance you have,” Thompson said, noting he wants a bill that pays for health care reform without adding to the national debt.
Unlike certain states that mandate auto insurance, however, legal scholars argue that the federal Constitution does not grant Congress the authority to force individuals to do business with any particular business cartel.
Although Thompson ruled out the single payer system, declaring it completely off the table, he also discounted offering health insurance through cooperatives, as is done in the state of Washington.
“If you're shaking you're head, you know more than me, because I don't know what a co-op is,” said Thompson.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Local high school exam results improve
Ferndale High boasts 100% passage rate for tenth graders
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/6/09
Eureka
Humboldt County public schools received the latest results from the California Department of Education for the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) that exhibit the steadfast improvement of local students for the last three years.
“I am delighted to see that Humboldt County students continue to improve their CAHSEE passage rates,” County Superintendent of Schools Garry Eagles stated in a release. “The ongoing improvement that our students have demonstrated is proof that our schools continue to raise the bar in academic achievement.”
The CAHSEE is designed to ensure that all high school graduates have achieved a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in English-language arts and mathematics. The CAHSEE test questions are based on the state content standards. Students are required to take the CAHSEE for the first time in the tenth grade. Students who do not pass the CAHSEE will have two opportunities in the eleventh grade and up to five opportunities in the twelfth grade to pass the exam.
The latest data indicate that an increasing percentage of students are passing the exam on their first opportunity in the tenth grade. 81 percent of the Class of 2011 has already passed the English-language arts portion, compared to 77 percent of the tenth graders in the Class of 2009. In mathematics, 82 percent of the first-time test takers passed, an increase from 80 percent for the Class of 2009.
Ferndale High topped the list with 100% of their students passing in tenth grade, up from 90% the year before and 84% two years ago. Hoopa High continues to rank the lowest, with 71% of their students passing in the tenth grade, up two points from the 69% average of the two prior years.
When comparing to the first-time test takers in the Class of 2009 to the first-time test takers in the Class of 2011, the CAHSEE data for our local students does show a narrowing of the achievement gap. The achievement gap between Hispanic and white students decreased in English-language arts by an estimated 4 percent and in mathematics by 2 percent. The achievement gap between American Indian or Alaska Native and white students on the English-language arts portion of the test is estimated to have decreased 6 percent and in mathematics by 4 percent. For African American and white students the achievement gap decreased by an estimated 1 percent in mathematics and remained constant on the English-language arts portion of the test.
In both subsections of the CAHSEE, overall passage rates for Humboldt County students exceed state averages. Data shows that all county students taking the CAHSEE exam during the 2008-09 year scored 6 percentage points higher in the English-language arts portion and 9 percentage points higher in the mathematics portion when compared to state test results.
Results for the entire California High School Exit Examination for the state, counties, school districts and schools are available on the California Department of Education web site at http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/6/09
Eureka
Humboldt County public schools received the latest results from the California Department of Education for the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) that exhibit the steadfast improvement of local students for the last three years.
“I am delighted to see that Humboldt County students continue to improve their CAHSEE passage rates,” County Superintendent of Schools Garry Eagles stated in a release. “The ongoing improvement that our students have demonstrated is proof that our schools continue to raise the bar in academic achievement.”
The CAHSEE is designed to ensure that all high school graduates have achieved a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in English-language arts and mathematics. The CAHSEE test questions are based on the state content standards. Students are required to take the CAHSEE for the first time in the tenth grade. Students who do not pass the CAHSEE will have two opportunities in the eleventh grade and up to five opportunities in the twelfth grade to pass the exam.
The latest data indicate that an increasing percentage of students are passing the exam on their first opportunity in the tenth grade. 81 percent of the Class of 2011 has already passed the English-language arts portion, compared to 77 percent of the tenth graders in the Class of 2009. In mathematics, 82 percent of the first-time test takers passed, an increase from 80 percent for the Class of 2009.
Ferndale High topped the list with 100% of their students passing in tenth grade, up from 90% the year before and 84% two years ago. Hoopa High continues to rank the lowest, with 71% of their students passing in the tenth grade, up two points from the 69% average of the two prior years.
When comparing to the first-time test takers in the Class of 2009 to the first-time test takers in the Class of 2011, the CAHSEE data for our local students does show a narrowing of the achievement gap. The achievement gap between Hispanic and white students decreased in English-language arts by an estimated 4 percent and in mathematics by 2 percent. The achievement gap between American Indian or Alaska Native and white students on the English-language arts portion of the test is estimated to have decreased 6 percent and in mathematics by 4 percent. For African American and white students the achievement gap decreased by an estimated 1 percent in mathematics and remained constant on the English-language arts portion of the test.
In both subsections of the CAHSEE, overall passage rates for Humboldt County students exceed state averages. Data shows that all county students taking the CAHSEE exam during the 2008-09 year scored 6 percentage points higher in the English-language arts portion and 9 percentage points higher in the mathematics portion when compared to state test results.
Results for the entire California High School Exit Examination for the state, counties, school districts and schools are available on the California Department of Education web site at http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Zepparella returns to Red Fox on Sunday
Four women, one Led Zeppelin tribute band
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/5/09
Four women intent on bringing the passion, the beauty and the aggression of Led Zeppelin alive will rock all night long at the Red Fox Tavern this Sunday night.
Zepparella is no costumed, wigged-up tribute band. You’ll hear no backing tracks or misguided attempts at note for note replication. Instead, Zepparella offers four seriously talented musicians who have loved and studied this music long enough to make it a part of themselves.
“It is a celebration of some of the greatest music ever written, by women who love it as musicians and as fans,” boasts Eric Kinnally of Passion Presents.
Zepparella delivers an explosive, emotional musical journey at every event. They take on the challenge of balancing their devotion to playing the songs as close to the original as possible, while taking advantage of their own musical communication and carrying the audience away on the ride.
Anna Kristina, the popular Bay Area stage actress, vocalist, songwriter and solo artist, brings her seductive style and powerful range to front the band with consistently transcendent performances. Her soulful delivery is mesmerizing.
Gretchen Menn applies her dazzling and emotive guitar playing to the leads. After her stint as Agnes Young in the top-grossing Bay Area band AC/DShe for three years, and then touring as the second guitarist in the national metal band Bottom, she now takes on the Page lines with an arresting ability that can’t be missed.
Nila Minnerock’s seminal bass playing, dark, beautiful, aggressive, melodic, fills out the bottom end of the band. Her joined-at-the-hip connection with Clementine began eleven years ago in Bottom, and close to 20 trips around the US, Canada and Europe and three records have created the remarkably intuitive rhythm section that Zeppelin deserves.
Clementine tackles the best rock drumming ever written with her own powerfully passionate style, bringing the Motown influence of the Bonham groove to the forefront. As Phyllis Rudd in AC/DShe and throughout the run of Bottom, she developed a heavy-hitting sound suited to attempt Zeppelin. The musical connection established with Gretchen in AC/DShe and the lifelong rhythmic conversation with Nila creates the bond required to do this great music justice.
To get a preview of what’s in store, visit their MySpace page (myspace.com/zepparella) or their website (zepparella.com) and, as always with a Passion Presents show, fans can find out how to pre-order tickets at passionpresents.com. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. at the Red Fox Tavern, located at 415 Fifth Street in Downtown Eureka. Tickets are $15 at the door, but only for patrons 21 and over.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/5/09
Four women intent on bringing the passion, the beauty and the aggression of Led Zeppelin alive will rock all night long at the Red Fox Tavern this Sunday night.
Zepparella is no costumed, wigged-up tribute band. You’ll hear no backing tracks or misguided attempts at note for note replication. Instead, Zepparella offers four seriously talented musicians who have loved and studied this music long enough to make it a part of themselves.
“It is a celebration of some of the greatest music ever written, by women who love it as musicians and as fans,” boasts Eric Kinnally of Passion Presents.
Zepparella delivers an explosive, emotional musical journey at every event. They take on the challenge of balancing their devotion to playing the songs as close to the original as possible, while taking advantage of their own musical communication and carrying the audience away on the ride.
Anna Kristina, the popular Bay Area stage actress, vocalist, songwriter and solo artist, brings her seductive style and powerful range to front the band with consistently transcendent performances. Her soulful delivery is mesmerizing.
Gretchen Menn applies her dazzling and emotive guitar playing to the leads. After her stint as Agnes Young in the top-grossing Bay Area band AC/DShe for three years, and then touring as the second guitarist in the national metal band Bottom, she now takes on the Page lines with an arresting ability that can’t be missed.
Nila Minnerock’s seminal bass playing, dark, beautiful, aggressive, melodic, fills out the bottom end of the band. Her joined-at-the-hip connection with Clementine began eleven years ago in Bottom, and close to 20 trips around the US, Canada and Europe and three records have created the remarkably intuitive rhythm section that Zeppelin deserves.
Clementine tackles the best rock drumming ever written with her own powerfully passionate style, bringing the Motown influence of the Bonham groove to the forefront. As Phyllis Rudd in AC/DShe and throughout the run of Bottom, she developed a heavy-hitting sound suited to attempt Zeppelin. The musical connection established with Gretchen in AC/DShe and the lifelong rhythmic conversation with Nila creates the bond required to do this great music justice.
To get a preview of what’s in store, visit their MySpace page (myspace.com/zepparella) or their website (zepparella.com) and, as always with a Passion Presents show, fans can find out how to pre-order tickets at passionpresents.com. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. at the Red Fox Tavern, located at 415 Fifth Street in Downtown Eureka. Tickets are $15 at the door, but only for patrons 21 and over.
Friday, September 4, 2009
CAMP grabs $3 million worth of pot
Sheriffs believe site was used by drug trafficking outfit
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/4/09
Willow Creek
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting spent only one day in Humboldt County this week, but that one day landed a major score in their quest to destroy a species of plant.
Yesterday CAMP personnel in coordination with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the US Forest Service discovered and killed 10,709 growing marijuana plants ranging from six to eight feet in height at a location off of Forest Service Route Six in the hills above Willow Creek.
According to HCSO public information officer Brenda Godsey in a release, evidence at nearby campsites confirmed the grow site was that of a drug trafficking organization, and the plants grabbed have an estimated street value of more that $3 million.
CAMP will continue operations in Humboldt County throughout the summer, officials once again reminded the public.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/4/09
Willow Creek
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting spent only one day in Humboldt County this week, but that one day landed a major score in their quest to destroy a species of plant.
Yesterday CAMP personnel in coordination with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the US Forest Service discovered and killed 10,709 growing marijuana plants ranging from six to eight feet in height at a location off of Forest Service Route Six in the hills above Willow Creek.
According to HCSO public information officer Brenda Godsey in a release, evidence at nearby campsites confirmed the grow site was that of a drug trafficking organization, and the plants grabbed have an estimated street value of more that $3 million.
CAMP will continue operations in Humboldt County throughout the summer, officials once again reminded the public.
Supes to appoint Prop. 215 subcommittee
Medical marijuana advocates concerned about potential rollback
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/4/09
Eureka
Humboldt County’s five-year-old ordinance permitting increased medical marijuana possession and cultivation limits could be the subject of a renewed legislative struggle in the months to come, thanks to a move by Supervisors Mark Lovelace and Jimmy Smith.
At next Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Lovelace and Smith put on the agenda consideration of the appointment of a new subcommittee to “research medical marijuana management alternatives.”
Smith cast one of the two votes against the 2004 ordinance setting county-wide three pound possession and 100 square foot cultivation limits for patients with a valid doctor’s recommendation under the provisions of Proposition 215. Otherwise known as Health and Safety Code 11362.5, this medical marijuana initiative was approved by California voters in 1996. Its companion Senate Bill 420, setting default possession and cultivation limits which cities and counties could improve upon, was approved by the legislature and governor in 2003.
Neighboring Mendocino and Trinity Counties had similar limits to Humboldt, but rolled them back in recent years to the default state minimums of eight ounces possession and six mature plants in cultivation per patient. An opinion issued by Attorney General Jerry Brown last year additionally constricted 215 rights by voiding many of the provisions for “primary caregivers” to cultivate cannabis on behalf of patients, unless the caregivers were otherwise primarily responsible for the health, safety or housing of the patients.
Humboldt County’s ordinance was the result of a lengthy series of meetings of what was then known as the Medical Marijuana Task Force, a collection of law enforcement, health care and patient’s rights advocates, and some in the medical marijuana community are concerned that a subcommittee consisting of Lovelace and Smith would seek to circumvent this broader consultative process.
“Most people who have grows are almost always below the maximum amount they’re allowed to have in Humboldt County,” said Greg Allen, an Arcata-based attorney who represents Humboldt Medical Supply, a 215 clinic in Arcata. HMS was involved in litigation against the City of Arcata when city officials acted outside municipal law and beyond City Council oversight to pull the permits on their clinic.
Allen, who also serves as chair of the Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union, questioned whether a move to roll back possession and cultivation limits wouldn’t primarily target individual patients and mom-and-pop growers.
“Not everyone is equally talented, so it would make it very hard on the unskilled grower,” he said. “It’s probably worth noting that there’d be a higher percentage of true medical growers who are unskilled, so going to a reduced number of plants is going to have the affect of making things extremely difficult for the unskilled grower.”
The ACLU and the Southern Humboldt-based Civil Liberties Monitoring Project have confronted Supervisors in recent months over the behavior of the county’s Code Enforcement Task Force, where items such as composting toilets and other minor code infractions triggered massive armed law enforcement response teams deployed to rural homes on the pretext of allowing inspections by building officials. Yet one idea that might garner broader support, according to Allen, would be to specifically require growers to keep their electrical wiring up to safety code standards.
“Folks who have grows with wiring that’s not up to code pose a grave risk to their neighbors and themselves,” Allen said.
While Smith’s attitude towards Prop. 215 is well known, less clear is what Lovelace would do -- he stayed quiet on the subject during his abbreviated campaign last spring, and key supporters of his, such as Arcata Eye editor Kevin Hoover, have been at the forefront of rousting grow houses out of Arcata, the only incorporated city in the Third District which Lovelace represents.
Arcata also amended its medical marijuana ordinance last year, restricting 215-related grows to 50 square feet and arming city inspectors with the authority to order power meters to be removed from suspected grow houses. Eureka Councilmember Larry Glass’ failed attempt to impose mandatory rental inspections was also widely seen as a method of flushing 215 growers out of his city.
The Board will convene their meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Supervisors’ Chambers at the county courthouse.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/4/09
Eureka
Humboldt County’s five-year-old ordinance permitting increased medical marijuana possession and cultivation limits could be the subject of a renewed legislative struggle in the months to come, thanks to a move by Supervisors Mark Lovelace and Jimmy Smith.
At next Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Lovelace and Smith put on the agenda consideration of the appointment of a new subcommittee to “research medical marijuana management alternatives.”
Smith cast one of the two votes against the 2004 ordinance setting county-wide three pound possession and 100 square foot cultivation limits for patients with a valid doctor’s recommendation under the provisions of Proposition 215. Otherwise known as Health and Safety Code 11362.5, this medical marijuana initiative was approved by California voters in 1996. Its companion Senate Bill 420, setting default possession and cultivation limits which cities and counties could improve upon, was approved by the legislature and governor in 2003.
Neighboring Mendocino and Trinity Counties had similar limits to Humboldt, but rolled them back in recent years to the default state minimums of eight ounces possession and six mature plants in cultivation per patient. An opinion issued by Attorney General Jerry Brown last year additionally constricted 215 rights by voiding many of the provisions for “primary caregivers” to cultivate cannabis on behalf of patients, unless the caregivers were otherwise primarily responsible for the health, safety or housing of the patients.
Humboldt County’s ordinance was the result of a lengthy series of meetings of what was then known as the Medical Marijuana Task Force, a collection of law enforcement, health care and patient’s rights advocates, and some in the medical marijuana community are concerned that a subcommittee consisting of Lovelace and Smith would seek to circumvent this broader consultative process.
“Most people who have grows are almost always below the maximum amount they’re allowed to have in Humboldt County,” said Greg Allen, an Arcata-based attorney who represents Humboldt Medical Supply, a 215 clinic in Arcata. HMS was involved in litigation against the City of Arcata when city officials acted outside municipal law and beyond City Council oversight to pull the permits on their clinic.
Allen, who also serves as chair of the Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union, questioned whether a move to roll back possession and cultivation limits wouldn’t primarily target individual patients and mom-and-pop growers.
“Not everyone is equally talented, so it would make it very hard on the unskilled grower,” he said. “It’s probably worth noting that there’d be a higher percentage of true medical growers who are unskilled, so going to a reduced number of plants is going to have the affect of making things extremely difficult for the unskilled grower.”
The ACLU and the Southern Humboldt-based Civil Liberties Monitoring Project have confronted Supervisors in recent months over the behavior of the county’s Code Enforcement Task Force, where items such as composting toilets and other minor code infractions triggered massive armed law enforcement response teams deployed to rural homes on the pretext of allowing inspections by building officials. Yet one idea that might garner broader support, according to Allen, would be to specifically require growers to keep their electrical wiring up to safety code standards.
“Folks who have grows with wiring that’s not up to code pose a grave risk to their neighbors and themselves,” Allen said.
While Smith’s attitude towards Prop. 215 is well known, less clear is what Lovelace would do -- he stayed quiet on the subject during his abbreviated campaign last spring, and key supporters of his, such as Arcata Eye editor Kevin Hoover, have been at the forefront of rousting grow houses out of Arcata, the only incorporated city in the Third District which Lovelace represents.
Arcata also amended its medical marijuana ordinance last year, restricting 215-related grows to 50 square feet and arming city inspectors with the authority to order power meters to be removed from suspected grow houses. Eureka Councilmember Larry Glass’ failed attempt to impose mandatory rental inspections was also widely seen as a method of flushing 215 growers out of his city.
The Board will convene their meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Supervisors’ Chambers at the county courthouse.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Local advocacy journalist releases new volume
Can “Manifest Positivity” replace voter confidence?
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
After several months in “stealth mode,” a local website has been officially launched with the release of a second volume of essays by a local advocacy journalist.
Eureka resident Dave Berman, previously the editor of the GuvWurld and We Do Not Consent news aggregation and political blogging websites, has released We Do Not Consent Volume 2 as a compilation of 20 of his essays on peace, media reform, election integrity and other public interest topics. His book, like the first volume published in 2006, is available for free on the Internet and paperbacks may also be purchased on-line.
“For years I've been practicing and promoting advocacy journalism, transparently using media to facilitate the achievement of public service goals,” Berman stated in a release.
His new website, www.ManifestPositivity.org, declares as its focus the production of public service videos for mainly “apolitical” persons and organizations -- and Berman’s philosophy of withdrawing the consent of the governed from the federal government due to mass election fraud, encapsulated in the “We Do Not Consent” meme, has apparently been replaced by “pronoia, the belief that the universe is conspiring on our behalf.”
Pronoia, otherwise described as the other end of extremism from paranoia or an assumed distrust of others and especially of large organizations and governments, has been described by Dr. Fred Goldner of Queens College as a psychological affliction or a “delusion that others think well of one.” Its chief proponent is Rob Brezsny, a Santa Cruz-based astrologer and author who once ran for City Council on a platform of imposing “yuppie immigration quotas.”
Apparently as part of his shift away from political organizing, Berman left the election integrity group he founded behind last year, and according to its few remaining members, the Voter Confidence Committee no longer meets regularly.
Its previous accomplishments include the adoption of the Voter Confidence Resolution by the Arcata City Council and their early work against continued use by Humboldt County elections officials of vote-counting machines produced by Diebold -- a position eventually validated when Election Advisory Committee volunteers and Clerk/Recorder Carolyn Crnich found over a hundred ballots were not counted in the presidential election last November due to an error in the Diebold device.
The VCC was unsuccessful, however, in persuading Crnich and the Board of Supervisors to switch entirely to a hand-counted paper ballot system, as the county moves towards its first election using Hart Intercivic-produced ballot tabulation machines this fall. Its efforts were also dissipated by a well-publicized split in 2006 by VCC members Scott Menzies and Mark Konkler, who founded a Humboldt Voter’s Association which briefly sponsored mock ranked choice voting demonstrations before going inactive itself.
For his part, Berman is moving from writing about his own projects and causes towards a new stance where an on-line talk show, samples of which are posted on YouTube, will focus on the work of others.
“The Manifest Positivity site comes from a place of love not anger, showing how we can use media as a tool for the greater good,” Berman stated. “People everywhere are collaborating independent of the corporate/military/government/media juggernaut to address the survival needs of humanity and our planet. Manifest Positivity is the work of peaceful revolution…”
Berman, who worked as a radio disc jockey for a decade after garnering his communications degree from Cornell, is featured in the new issue of the Steelhead Special published this month. He’s also looking to “reprise national and international media exposure” from his previous organizing efforts and to resume public speaking appearances.
“I'm especially interested in collaborating with students,” Berman stated. “Social networking and other new media tools are particularly conducive to advocacy journalism so I'm reaching out to my contacts at HSU, CR, and elsewhere…I invite everyone to contact me through ManifestPositivity.org to get involved.”
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
After several months in “stealth mode,” a local website has been officially launched with the release of a second volume of essays by a local advocacy journalist.
Eureka resident Dave Berman, previously the editor of the GuvWurld and We Do Not Consent news aggregation and political blogging websites, has released We Do Not Consent Volume 2 as a compilation of 20 of his essays on peace, media reform, election integrity and other public interest topics. His book, like the first volume published in 2006, is available for free on the Internet and paperbacks may also be purchased on-line.
“For years I've been practicing and promoting advocacy journalism, transparently using media to facilitate the achievement of public service goals,” Berman stated in a release.
His new website, www.ManifestPositivity.org, declares as its focus the production of public service videos for mainly “apolitical” persons and organizations -- and Berman’s philosophy of withdrawing the consent of the governed from the federal government due to mass election fraud, encapsulated in the “We Do Not Consent” meme, has apparently been replaced by “pronoia, the belief that the universe is conspiring on our behalf.”
Pronoia, otherwise described as the other end of extremism from paranoia or an assumed distrust of others and especially of large organizations and governments, has been described by Dr. Fred Goldner of Queens College as a psychological affliction or a “delusion that others think well of one.” Its chief proponent is Rob Brezsny, a Santa Cruz-based astrologer and author who once ran for City Council on a platform of imposing “yuppie immigration quotas.”
Apparently as part of his shift away from political organizing, Berman left the election integrity group he founded behind last year, and according to its few remaining members, the Voter Confidence Committee no longer meets regularly.
Its previous accomplishments include the adoption of the Voter Confidence Resolution by the Arcata City Council and their early work against continued use by Humboldt County elections officials of vote-counting machines produced by Diebold -- a position eventually validated when Election Advisory Committee volunteers and Clerk/Recorder Carolyn Crnich found over a hundred ballots were not counted in the presidential election last November due to an error in the Diebold device.
The VCC was unsuccessful, however, in persuading Crnich and the Board of Supervisors to switch entirely to a hand-counted paper ballot system, as the county moves towards its first election using Hart Intercivic-produced ballot tabulation machines this fall. Its efforts were also dissipated by a well-publicized split in 2006 by VCC members Scott Menzies and Mark Konkler, who founded a Humboldt Voter’s Association which briefly sponsored mock ranked choice voting demonstrations before going inactive itself.
For his part, Berman is moving from writing about his own projects and causes towards a new stance where an on-line talk show, samples of which are posted on YouTube, will focus on the work of others.
“The Manifest Positivity site comes from a place of love not anger, showing how we can use media as a tool for the greater good,” Berman stated. “People everywhere are collaborating independent of the corporate/military/government/media juggernaut to address the survival needs of humanity and our planet. Manifest Positivity is the work of peaceful revolution…”
Berman, who worked as a radio disc jockey for a decade after garnering his communications degree from Cornell, is featured in the new issue of the Steelhead Special published this month. He’s also looking to “reprise national and international media exposure” from his previous organizing efforts and to resume public speaking appearances.
“I'm especially interested in collaborating with students,” Berman stated. “Social networking and other new media tools are particularly conducive to advocacy journalism so I'm reaching out to my contacts at HSU, CR, and elsewhere…I invite everyone to contact me through ManifestPositivity.org to get involved.”
Reward increased in hit-and-run case
Police still seek culprit who killed Eliseo Cervantes
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
Arcata
An anonymous donor has come forward to add to the reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction for the person responsible for the hit-and-run traffic collision death of Eliseo Cervantes.
The $1,000 contribution to the reward offered by the Arcata Police Department now makes a total of $3,000 offered for a lead.
The collision took place on Samoa Boulevard near K Street on July 26 at around 2:15 a.m. Cervantes was a husband, father, and long-time employee at Sun Valley Floral Farms.
The APD describe the suspect vehicle as a black or dark colored 80s or 90s Ford or Chevy full-sized truck, with a regular, lifted cab and dark tinted windows. Witnesses also described a Fox Racing or similar sticker in the upper left-hand corner of the rear window, and metal side mirrors. Officers suggest damage to the vehicle resultant from the collision as possibly consisting of driver side bumper and fender damage, and other possible damage to the hood, grille, turn signal assembly and mirror.
APD officer Kevin Stonebarger thanked local residents who have already provided information about the incident, and invited further information to be submitted directly to the APD at (707) 822-2427 or anonymously through their Tip Line at (707) 825-2587.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
Arcata
An anonymous donor has come forward to add to the reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction for the person responsible for the hit-and-run traffic collision death of Eliseo Cervantes.
The $1,000 contribution to the reward offered by the Arcata Police Department now makes a total of $3,000 offered for a lead.
The collision took place on Samoa Boulevard near K Street on July 26 at around 2:15 a.m. Cervantes was a husband, father, and long-time employee at Sun Valley Floral Farms.
The APD describe the suspect vehicle as a black or dark colored 80s or 90s Ford or Chevy full-sized truck, with a regular, lifted cab and dark tinted windows. Witnesses also described a Fox Racing or similar sticker in the upper left-hand corner of the rear window, and metal side mirrors. Officers suggest damage to the vehicle resultant from the collision as possibly consisting of driver side bumper and fender damage, and other possible damage to the hood, grille, turn signal assembly and mirror.
APD officer Kevin Stonebarger thanked local residents who have already provided information about the incident, and invited further information to be submitted directly to the APD at (707) 822-2427 or anonymously through their Tip Line at (707) 825-2587.
Woman held captive and repeatedly assaulted
Nicholas Liston arrested, in jail on half million dollar bail
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
Eureka
Police have charged a man Wednesday with beating and sodomizing a woman he held captive for two days.
Nicholas Liston, 22, of Eureka has been jailed with $500,000 bail for domestic violence, false imprisonment, sodomy by force, penetration with a foreign object.
Eureka Police Department officers busted Liston Wednesday morning after his victim managed to covertly call them from a relative's house.
The woman convinced him to walk her there after being kept at his home from Monday to Wednesday, gagged and blindfolded much of the time. Detectives say that after getting a warrant to search Liston's home, they found evidence supporting her story.
The woman was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/3/09
Eureka
Police have charged a man Wednesday with beating and sodomizing a woman he held captive for two days.
Nicholas Liston, 22, of Eureka has been jailed with $500,000 bail for domestic violence, false imprisonment, sodomy by force, penetration with a foreign object.
Eureka Police Department officers busted Liston Wednesday morning after his victim managed to covertly call them from a relative's house.
The woman convinced him to walk her there after being kept at his home from Monday to Wednesday, gagged and blindfolded much of the time. Detectives say that after getting a warrant to search Liston's home, they found evidence supporting her story.
The woman was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Officer assaulted during terrorist threats arrest
Ben Reed Newsome attempted to intimidate police, Fortuna councilman
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/2/09
Eureka
Police have charged a man with threatening them during an arrest after the man repeatedly called their office to threaten them as well as police dispatchers.
Ben Reed Newsom, 33, of Eureka was busted at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday after Eureka Police Department officers returned with a search warrant to his apartment on the 800 block of C Street, where earlier at about 3 a.m. he threw knives and a mop handle at officers threatening to stab and shoot them and lay in wait for unarmed dispatchers.
The search confirmed Newsom's phone number is the one an EPD dispatcher got 11 calls from between 9 p.m Monday and midnight from a man who threatened to shoot officers and cut dispatchers' throats.
Fortuna police dispatchers reported getting 10 calls at about the same time, as well as threats against a Fortuna city councilman, all from Newsom's number.
Newsom is being held for $250,000 bail on charges of terrorist threats, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/2/09
Eureka
Police have charged a man with threatening them during an arrest after the man repeatedly called their office to threaten them as well as police dispatchers.
Ben Reed Newsom, 33, of Eureka was busted at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday after Eureka Police Department officers returned with a search warrant to his apartment on the 800 block of C Street, where earlier at about 3 a.m. he threw knives and a mop handle at officers threatening to stab and shoot them and lay in wait for unarmed dispatchers.
The search confirmed Newsom's phone number is the one an EPD dispatcher got 11 calls from between 9 p.m Monday and midnight from a man who threatened to shoot officers and cut dispatchers' throats.
Fortuna police dispatchers reported getting 10 calls at about the same time, as well as threats against a Fortuna city councilman, all from Newsom's number.
Newsom is being held for $250,000 bail on charges of terrorist threats, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
Two arrested for selling hash
Arcata bicycle patrol finds suspects behind The Alibi
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/2/09
Arcata
A police officer on bicycle patrol rolled up on an apparent hash sale earlier today, resulting in the arrest of two local men.
At about 12:30 p.m. an unidentified police officer entered the alley behind Tavern Row on the Plaza and located several subjects gathered behind The Alibi bar. When contacted, a number of them walked away, leaving two men who the officer observed were engaged in a cash for hash transaction.
The officer searched 39-year-old Arcata resident Robert Yates and 31-year-old Jeremy Campbell, who APD sergeant Dave Brown described as a “transient individual” in a release. The cop found nearly three ounces of concentrated cannabis, a scale and other contraband items, and promptly arrested Yates and Campbell. They were transported to county jail without incident and are presently in custody.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/2/09
Arcata
A police officer on bicycle patrol rolled up on an apparent hash sale earlier today, resulting in the arrest of two local men.
At about 12:30 p.m. an unidentified police officer entered the alley behind Tavern Row on the Plaza and located several subjects gathered behind The Alibi bar. When contacted, a number of them walked away, leaving two men who the officer observed were engaged in a cash for hash transaction.
The officer searched 39-year-old Arcata resident Robert Yates and 31-year-old Jeremy Campbell, who APD sergeant Dave Brown described as a “transient individual” in a release. The cop found nearly three ounces of concentrated cannabis, a scale and other contraband items, and promptly arrested Yates and Campbell. They were transported to county jail without incident and are presently in custody.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Arcata, McKinleyville grow houses busted
72 pounds of bud, over four pound of hash, $50k seized
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/1/09
Arcata
A two-month investigation by the Arcata Police Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Drug Task Force led to the service of four search warrants and the arrest of six people on marijuana-related charges.
The investigation was the results of citizen complains about drug trafficking, according to APD captain Tom Chapman in a release, and three of the homes searched were in Arcata.
At a home on the 1100 block of Larry Strett, 33-year-old resident Kenneth Dru McCasland was arrested on cultivation, possession and drug house charges, with law enforcement seizing five pounds of bud, 25 pounds of unprocessed marijuana, nearly an ounce of concentrated cannabis and $22,000 in cash.
Officers also called Building Department and Arcata Volunteer Fire Department officials to the scene after discovering electrical wiring in the home had been modified to facilitate an indoor grow, which police described as “unpermitted modifications and hazardous conditions.” The electrical meter was removed by Pacific Gas and Electric until the home’s electrical wiring is in compliance with building codes.
At the 1000 block of Sunset Avenue, 35-year-old resident Jennifer Marie Sandoval was arrested at her home on charges of possession with intent to sell. Officers seized four pounds of bud and $1,200 cash.
Also in Arcata, officers paid a visit to the 1300 block of Beverly Drive where they arrested 36-year-old resident Christopher Lee Robinson on cultivation, possession and drug house charges. Task Force members seized 25 pounds of unprocessed marijuana and $12,300 in cash. Officers also noticed electrical modifications, called Building and Fire officials to the scene, and had PG&E remove the electrical meter.
The final warrant was served at a home on the 1800 block of Fir Avenue in McKinleyville, where 27-year-old resident Paul Eugene Aragon was arrested on cultivation, possession and drug house charges. Officers netted four pounds of hash and $15,000 in cash from inside the house.
Also discovered on scene and arrested for possession charges were 24-year-old Paul Dunnigan and his older brother, 28-year-old Matthew Dunnigan, both from Michigan. In the course of their search, officers found Paul Dunnigan’s 2006 Dodge truck in the garage, where 38 pounds of bud was discovered in a hidden compartment. Officers also seized the truck.
All arrests were made without incident and all four suspects were transported to county jail.
Humboldt Sentinel staff
9/1/09
Arcata
A two-month investigation by the Arcata Police Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Drug Task Force led to the service of four search warrants and the arrest of six people on marijuana-related charges.
The investigation was the results of citizen complains about drug trafficking, according to APD captain Tom Chapman in a release, and three of the homes searched were in Arcata.
At a home on the 1100 block of Larry Strett, 33-year-old resident Kenneth Dru McCasland was arrested on cultivation, possession and drug house charges, with law enforcement seizing five pounds of bud, 25 pounds of unprocessed marijuana, nearly an ounce of concentrated cannabis and $22,000 in cash.
Officers also called Building Department and Arcata Volunteer Fire Department officials to the scene after discovering electrical wiring in the home had been modified to facilitate an indoor grow, which police described as “unpermitted modifications and hazardous conditions.” The electrical meter was removed by Pacific Gas and Electric until the home’s electrical wiring is in compliance with building codes.
At the 1000 block of Sunset Avenue, 35-year-old resident Jennifer Marie Sandoval was arrested at her home on charges of possession with intent to sell. Officers seized four pounds of bud and $1,200 cash.
Also in Arcata, officers paid a visit to the 1300 block of Beverly Drive where they arrested 36-year-old resident Christopher Lee Robinson on cultivation, possession and drug house charges. Task Force members seized 25 pounds of unprocessed marijuana and $12,300 in cash. Officers also noticed electrical modifications, called Building and Fire officials to the scene, and had PG&E remove the electrical meter.
The final warrant was served at a home on the 1800 block of Fir Avenue in McKinleyville, where 27-year-old resident Paul Eugene Aragon was arrested on cultivation, possession and drug house charges. Officers netted four pounds of hash and $15,000 in cash from inside the house.
Also discovered on scene and arrested for possession charges were 24-year-old Paul Dunnigan and his older brother, 28-year-old Matthew Dunnigan, both from Michigan. In the course of their search, officers found Paul Dunnigan’s 2006 Dodge truck in the garage, where 38 pounds of bud was discovered in a hidden compartment. Officers also seized the truck.
All arrests were made without incident and all four suspects were transported to county jail.
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