Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
The
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 15-year-old Preston
Lee Ruiz II, on a no bail warrant in connection with the shooting
that occurred in Hoopa on Mar. 10, 2026. Ruiz was taken into
custody after being located at residence located off State Highway
169 near Wautec.
Ruiz will be booked into Juvenile Hall on the following
charges:
PC 664/187-Attempted murder
PC 182(a)-Conspiracy to commit a
crime
PC 12022-Armed during the commission of a felony
As a result of the ongoing investigation, detectives with
the Humboldt County Major Crimes Division have obtained No Bail
warrants for the following individuals:
Tse-Lin Qhaba Red Cloud Perry
Wayne Lincoln, Indian male Adult 19-years-old of Hoopa
William Randolph “Billy” Warren, also known as William
“Bubbz” Lincoln, Indian Male Adult, 18-years-old of Hoopa
They are wanted for the following charges:
PC 664/187-Attempted murder
PC 182(a)-Conspiracy to commit a
crime
PC 12022-Armed during the commission of a felony
This investigation is active and anyone with any information about
this case or the whereabouts of the listed suspects is asked to
contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or
by calling the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (707) 268-2539.
Left: Nicolette Hahn Niman, via Instagram. Right: Jared Huffman
The first congressional race following the voter-supported gerrymandering of District Two, represented by Jared Huffman since 2013, has brought on a crop of candidates to run against him.
The candidate filing deadline for the upcoming primary election was Friday, March 6, and at least five people are running against Congressman Huffman.
This includes Nicolette Hahn Niman, a Marin County author, former environmental attorney and rancher. Hahn Niman filed as a candidate with no party preference in paperwork submitted last week.
The representative will be tasked with championing the interests of both wealthy, ultra-liberal Marin and strongly conservative Shasta. To Hahn Niman, her independent nature and aversion to partisanship would be an advantage in this new district.
Hahn Niman, who has lived and worked on a ranch in Bolinas for 22 years, told the Outpost she’s interested in learning about concerns across the entire district, including Humboldt County.
“I believe that a single person can do that. I don’t think you have to be solely focused on the red parts of your district if you’re a Republican or the blue parts, if you’re a Democrat. I think that especially in today’s very polarized society, it is the job of whoever is sitting in this seat to reach those two communities and work across party lines,” she said.
She described her political beliefs as center, or slightly left of center. She says she’s never joined a political party in her life, but had an interest in policy from a young age and was on the city commission of Kalamazoo, Michigan. She’s served on a local church board and school board in Marin County.
Hahn Niman is married to the founder of Niman Ranch, a network of humane livestock farms in the U.S.. The Nimans were one of two ranching families to sue the National Park Service over its move to phase out ranching operations within Point Reyes National Seashore last year, according to reporting by the Press Democrat.
She said Huffman was closely involved with “basically getting rid of those multi-generational ranching families there.”
Plus, Hahn Niman said, after speaking to some people in the rural, northern part of the district, it led her to believe Huffman is “failing to represent the issues, or even try to understand the issues of the rural parts of the district.”
“At the same time that we are hearing nationally that the Democratic Party needs so desperately to be more representative and engaged with its rural constituents and understand its rural voters better. I felt like this was an exact example of that phenomenon right here in our district,” she said.
Her campaign’s theme, she says, is about rural America being left behind.
Huffman, however, had a different perspective of what happened in Point Reyes, and accused his political opponent of running a “single-issue candidacy.”
“Nicolette and her husband sat on the sidelines while I worked closely with the ranching community for many, many years to navigate these issues. [The Nimans] went it alone, thinking they could cut a better deal. And when that didn’t happen, they sued the federal government, and they tried to blow up the entire settlement that these ranching families worked out,” he said when reached for comment, later noting he’s been going to ranching association meetings for 14 years and has never seen Hahn Niman at one.
He also denied being absent from rural communities, pointing to his recent efforts to meet with people in the new parts of the district and efforts to support rural communities, including ranchers in Humboldt County.
“This is just a disgruntled outlier of the Marin ranching community with a personal agenda,” said Huffman, later remarking “I guess we’ve reached a point in the ethical race to the bottom of the Trump administration, where people now run for Congress, apparently to advance their own personal financial interests.”
Huffman also argued the climate for bipartisanship is tough in D.C., particularly as Trump actively punishes Republicans who work with Democrats. “It can’t be the sound of one hand clapping,” he said.
Back to Hahn Niman.
She said Humboldt County residents may be interested in her background as an environmental attorney for the Waterkeeper Alliance, pursuing litigation against farming corporations polluting water in the early 2000s.
“That’s actually kind of what put me on this whole path of beginning my work as a sustainable food and farming activist and advocate,” she said.
At Waterkeeper she worked with RFK Jr., now US Secretary of Health and Human Services, someone she’s still friends with. If elected, she said at the very top of her list is working on policy in the continuum of food systems, health care and the connections between the two.
She identifies with pieces — but not all — of the Make America Healthy Again movement. She pointed to shared concern over ultra-processed foods, food additives, chemicals in food and food processing, and the use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in food production. She referenced work by Democrat Tim Ryan as part of a movement toward health she was interested in working on.
“It’s clear that the way that we’re eating and the way that we’re producing food is very closely connected to the rise in all of these chronic health problems that exist today in the country,” she said, which she said is connected to food and farming.
This priority is followed by an interest in housing affordability.
In general, she says “I’m a great admirer of the natural beauty of California and just sort of helping to protect and preserve that, but I’m also a really big believer in this idea that we have to stop pitting that value against economic vitality.”
When asked about proposed plans for offshore drilling off the coast of California, she generally thinks ”we need to be open to all different kinds of sources of energy. We need to consider what the impacts are, what the implications are, what the needs are,” she said, but added she wanted to learn more about the topic before saying more. As for proposed plans for offshore wind in Humboldt County, she feels similarly; not everywhere is a good place for wind power, but said “I think everything should be on the table.”
Toward the end of her conversation with the Outpost, she noted that if elected, she’d be the first woman to represent District 2.
The district includes the counties of Humboldt, Marin, Modoc, Siskiyou, Del Norte, plus parts of Mendocino and Sonoma counties. The primary election is June 2, 2026.
There are a smattering of other candidates. Gregory Burgess, an elder caregiver, has similarly filed candidacy paperwork in Marin County. He has dedicated much of his campaign website to the Point Reyes deal.
And in Shasta County, at least three people have publicly announced their candidacy, though the Shasta County elections office declined to share a list of who’d submitted their paperwork to the Outpost.
“Please refer to the secretary of state’s website for the qualified candidates which will be published on March 26, 2026, we do not publish a list of qualified candidates for State and Federal elections in our office,” an election official said in an email.
According to their respective websites, Shasta County candidates include:
Paul Saulsbury, a Republican-registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
Robin Littau, a Republican owner of a cleaning service and Christian mother of four
Rose Penelope Yee, Chair of the Democratic Central Committee of Shasta County
Modoc County had yet to respond to a request on if anyone had filed candidacy paperwork for District 2 by publishing time. The remaining counties confirmed nobody had filed paperwork to run.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Mar. 10, 2026, at approximately 10:00 a.m., deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a residence in the 200 block of Bowie Rd. in Loleta to investigate a report that an individual, identified as 31-year-old Brandon Brumwell, was in possession of a firearm despite being prohibited from possessing firearms per the terms of his probation.
Upon arriving on scene, deputies contacted the reporting party. Based upon the information obtained during their investigation, deputies with the assistance from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division secured a search warrant for the residence. Brumwell was contacted inside the residence and detained.
During the search of the residence pursuant to the warrant, deputies located a non-serialized AR-15 style, short barreled rifle with an extended capacity magazine and ammunition.
Brumwell was arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked on the following charges:
PC 29800(a)(1)-Felon in possession of a firearm
PC 30305(a)(1)-Prohibited person in possession of ammunition
PC 33215-Possession of a short barreled rifle
PC 29180(c)-Own a firearm w/out a serial number
PC 29805(a)(1)-Possession of a firearm w/ spec misd. conviction
PC 32310(a)-Possession of a large capacity magazine
PC 1203.2-Violation of probation/ rearrest/revoke
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Just when we’d resigned ourselves to a humdrum Humboldt County election season, a late challenger files paperwork to run for the soon-to-be-open Fifth District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
McKinleyville resident Evan Schwartz, the founder of several local businesses and a self-described “regular person,” filed his candidacy paperwork this week.
He’s running against ecologist Mary Burke, who entered the race nearly a year ago and has the endorsement of current Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone, who is not seeking re-election.
In a phone conversation with the Outpost this afternoon, Schwartz said he learned about the community’s “triumphs and challenges” while he and his wife operated McKinleyville Central Market, a small natural foods grocery store that the couple founded and ran for about five years.
“We started the store to serve the community and because I couldn’t get products I liked in town,” Schwartz said. “Over five years we made a ton of friends in the community.”
They closed the store in 2015 (after Eureka Natural Foods purchased the former Ace Hardware location) and then launched another business, Craft Beer Distribution Company, which supplied products to many local grocery stores. They wound up selling that business, as well — to Tomaso’s. Schwartz also founded and later sold the bottled water company Cause Water.
“I’m not afraid to try stuff,” he remarked.
After growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Schwartz came to Humboldt County in 2003 to attend College of the Redwoods. He returned to the L.A. region and earned his real estate license before deciding to return to Humboldt, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing.
He and his family have lived in McKinleyville full time since 2010, he said. In recent years his family has experienced some serious health issues, so they’ve pared back a bit on their professional endeavors. Schwartz said he’s now doing “the Humboldt thing,” meaning earning an income through “a little bit of this and that,” including selling local items through Amazon, a bit of “product brokering” and renting his RV out through the website Outdoorsy.
“We’re not really working crazy, like, work work, and that’s why this is great opportunity for me to pursue this,” Schwartz said. “I’m ready to do something again, and it’s much more interesting to me than going to work for money. I’d rather be a public servant.”
Asked what specific issues motivated him and how he differs politically from Burke, Schwartz said he mostly just wants to be “a voice of people who feel marginalized or less represented as well as those who feel represented [already].”
He added that he’s had some frustrations dealing with the Humboldt County Planning Department when trying to get answers to business-related questions.
A registered Democrat, he said he’s heard Burke is in favor of a “road diet” plan that would reduce roughly half a mile of McKinleyville’s Central Avenue from five lanes to three.
“It would be horrendous to reduce [the number of lanes] on Central at certain times of day,” he said. “It would encumber a number of businesses. It just wouldn’t make sense.”
As for his campaign, he said he doesn’t yet have a website and may not start one. He hopes to organize a grassroots campaign “without spending a bunch on stuff that’s unnecessary.”
“I’m just a regular person who wants to do my part to represent my community and this distinct,” he said.
Schwartz sent us the following candidate statement:
I have lived in McKinleyville since 2010. I love being part of this community. This is my home, and I am proud to raise my family here.
In 2008, I earned my business degree from Humboldt State University and decided to put what I learned into practice locally. In 2010, I started McKinleyville Central Market, a small natural foods store and café that offered wholesome grocery options to our neighbors.
Over the following years I built and sold Craft Beer Distribution Company, a regional beverage distribution business, and Cause Water, a bottled spring water brand that used aluminum bottles to reduce plastic waste. Running these businesses connected me with the community and taught me how to solve problems, navigate regulations, and work with county, state, and federal agencies to accomplish goals.
In 2025, I briefly served as a member of the McKinleyville Community Services District Park and Recreation Committee (PARC).
I believe in community engagement and working together to build a strong future we can all enjoy.
I hope to serve District 5 with thoughtful leadership and a commitment to representing the people who live here.
Equipment currently being installed in a park on D Street is less jungle gym —and more real gym.
The city council approved its installation back in October, but it’s just now being installed, a little up the block from Arcata’s D Street Neighborhood Center. Currently, the D Street Linear Park is pretty much just a narrow strip of grass with some trees up the hill from Highway 101; the only unique feature was a three-tiered set of pullup bars a few feet from the sidewalk, but that disappeared during the past couple weeks. The exercise equipment it’s being replaced with is a tad more sophisticated.
The Combi 2 Robinia. With enough training, you could be like these fit Danes someday! Photo courtesy of Kompan A/S.
The Combi 2 Robinia is a “compact street workout station” manufactured by Danish playground equipment company Kompan. It almost looks like a normal playset that someone forgot to add the slides to, a bunch of wooden posts sticking out of the ground with metal bars linking them and a bench sticking out on one end. That, plus a weatherproof power tower, will flesh out a 20 by 30 foot rectangle paved with decomposed granite next to D Street.
The city is also adding a little concrete square with a picnic table at the site.
“Enhancing this linear park will help to provide expanded recreational opportunities for a variety of age ranges,” reads the staff report. “Furthermore, given the proximity of the D Street Linear Park to Cal Poly Humboldt, staff saw this as an opportunity to enhance a recreational amenity that frequently serves college-aged students near campus.”
Residents
across Humboldt, Del Norte, and Mendocino counties are encouraged to
participate in the annual North Coast Tsunami Drill on Wednesday,
March 25, at 11 a.m. This exercise is coordinated by the Humboldt,
Del Norte, and Mendocino counties’ Offices of Emergency Services,
the National Weather Service in Eureka, and with the Redwood Coast
Tsunami Work Group. The goal of this drill is to provide an
opportunity for individuals, businesses, and organizations to
practice earthquake and tsunami preparedness for a locally felt
earthquake and tsunami.
On
March 25 at 11 a.m., if you are in a tsunami zone, practice your
evacuation plan by walking to higher ground or outside the tsunami
hazard area. If you are not in a tsunami zone, stay where you are,
evacuation is not necessary. Instead, use this time to consider how
you would respond after an earthquake resulting in major damage.
Keep
in mind that dangerous tsunami waves can continue for 24 to 48 hours
after the first wave arrives. In a real event, do not return to the
tsunami hazard area until officials confirm it is safe.
Notification
System Tests
The
National Weather Service will issue a test message at 11 a.m. over
weather radio, commercial radio, and local TV broadcasts. Unlike in
previous years, a live-code tsunami warning WILL NOT be issued. This
means the message will not include the words “Tsunami Warning”.
Instead, a test message code will be used. The crawler on TV will
state this is only a test. Use this test message as your indication
to participate in the evacuation drill.
The
three coastal counties in Northwest California will also conduct
tests of their opt-in public alert and warning
notification systems:
Humboldt
County OES will issue a test notification through Humboldt Alert.
Residents are encouraged to check their Humboldt Alert accounts and
update their contact preferences at this link..
Del
Norte County OES will issue a test notification through the Del
Norte Community Alert System. Residents are encouraged to check
their Community Alert System accounts and update their contact
preferences at this link.
Mendocino
County OES will issue a test notification through MendoAlert.
Residents are encouraged to check their MendoAlert accounts and
update their contact preferences at this link.
Know
Your Zone
Preparedness
is key to ensuring community safety during a tsunami. “Know Your
Zone” by checking the tsunami hazard maps available on the Redwood
Coast Tsunami Work Group’s website
at this link to
determine if your home, workplace, or frequently visited areas are in
a tsunami hazard zone.
Emergency
preparedness saves lives. Let’s be tsunami ready by planning,
practicing and staying informed.
Be
Prepared
It
is important for individuals, families, neighborhoods, businesses and
governments to work together to prepare for the devastating impacts
of disasters. Starting a conversation with your loved ones today can
help you to take more actions to prepare. For emergency preparedness
tips and resources, please visit this link.
Press release from Hoopa Valley Tribal Chair Joe Davis:
This morning the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council met with a team of resources to ramp up support,
safety, and security for the community as we navigate this difficult time. We are currently
working closely with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Hoopa Tribal Police, the Yurok
Tribe, Two Feathers, Kimaw Medical Center, Humboldt County Department of Health and
Human Services, Hoopa Tribal Education Department, KTJUSD, and Hoopa Social Services. As
part of that effort, today Kimaw will deploy their mobile medical unit to the Hoopa Humboldt
County Library Parking Lot, Hoopa Human Services will be open on the campus, and the Tribal
Education NDN Center will all be open today on the campus with dedicated services for those
who would like to seek support. Food will be available at Hoopa Human Services. Kimaw will
also be making available a Zoom link so people can share their thoughts and feelings virtually
with community.
This evening, we will hold an emergency community meeting at 6 PM at the Council Chambers
to share info., resources, and provide for community input and feedback.
For the record, it is believed that the threats that were made at Hoopa High School last week,
were not related to yesterday’s incident. The suspects are still at large but law enforcement does
not believe the community is in danger. However, Hoopa Tribal Police will be ramping up
patrols and security both now and when school is back in session and the Hoopa Valley Tribe is
offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
If you have information please report it to Hoopa Tribal Police at (530) 625-4202.
In closing, the Hoopa Valley Tribe would like to thank everyone who responded to yesterday’s
incident including Hoopa Tribal Police, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Hoopa
Ambulance, and the good samaritans who transported the victim to find help. Our thoughts and
prayers are with the victim, a Hoopa Tribal Member, his family, and friends.
