PREVIOUSLY

• ‘Outdated in Terms of Design, Functionality, Accessibility, and User Experience’: Arcata to Consider Giving its Tourism Website a Facelift
• Arcata City Council May Axe Public Safety Committee

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Arcata’s city council members voted pretty much as expected on the two most interesting items on last night’s agenda — but not without a smattering of controversy. 

Tourism Website

VisitArcata.com is supposed to be Arcata’s all-purpose destination for tourists interested in exploring the area, but it’s a bit dilapidated. It’s not very accessible or easy to navigate; some of the information on the site is out-of-date; none of it is pleasing aesthetically. City manager Merritt Perry said that organizations like Humboldt Made and the Arcata Chamber of Commerce had told him that it was one of the worst in the county. (The chamber’s executive director Meredith Maier told the Outpost earlier this week she’d like to take the site over completely.)

The city is in charge of running it, but staff have little time and money to update it. “The whole problem is that we haven’t really spent any money on it historically,” finance director Tabatha Miller said; councilmember Alex Stillman decided it’d be worth it to ask staff to investigate.

An item allowing city staff to take some time to decide what the site needed and consider issuing a notice telling potential contractors that they were accepting bids to revamp it was included on the consent calendar. Councilmember Stacy Atkins-Salazar pulled it for discussion. She had some quibbles with allotting up to $25,000 for the project and wanted to wait until the city had completed its economic strategic plan, and said she thought Arcata’s Instagram was serving them well enough. 

Stillman disagreed. With the summer and peak tourist season approaching, it’d be valuable to make the website usable as quickly as possible. “It’s not doing as much as it could do,” she said. “And it’s really important, I think, with the economy, and what’s going on, to really see if we can’t attract and promote what we have.”

The other councilmembers present thought spending the time investigating the redesign options was worth it, but spending the money wasn’t. The proposed $25,000 would have come out of a $269,000 fund the council uses for community projects, such as last year’s Friday Night Markets and the Choose Humboldt campaign. The council set aside $100,000 from that fund for supporting the completion of the economic strategic plan. 

It’s not a lot of money considering the scope of the project, city manager Perry said. “Updating a website and staying on top of it for tourism and marketing is a huge effort,” he said. “$25,000 is actually a small part of that.”

Atkins-Salazar proposed that they direct the city to decide how they wanted to change the website, and then authorize spending the money when the plan was completed; the council voted 3-1 in favor of the idea. (Stillman voted “no”; Meredith Matthews was absent.)

Even if they did kick in the funds, it’s probably too late for the site to make a difference anyway, council member Sarah Schaefer said. 

“If we want to be quick on this, we should have done this back in January to have a website ready by tourism season,” she said. “Even if we’d go forward on this, it’s not going to be attracting people to Oysterfest, attracting people to North Country Fair, enjoying this lovely summer weather that we have away from the heat. It’s not going to be ready by then anyway…these things take time. We know the pace of government.”

Public Safety Committee

Arcata’s public safety committee, a citizen-led body dedicated to talking about public safety issues and giving its recommendations to the city council, hasn’t met since April 2023. Save for a representative from the Arcata Police Department, it has no members. Every month, city staff put out a notice telling the public its monthly meeting has been cancelled, and the inconvenience has become too annoying — so the city council decided to debate axing it. 

It was established in 2018 after the killing of Josiah Lawson, and it had some eager members for the first few years of its existence, said APD Chief Chris Ortega. But after a while, enthusiasm flagged, and people started to quit. Meetings were unable to achieve a quorum. Ortega said only two people applied for a position since it last met, despite the city’s efforts to fill them. 

Killing the committee wouldn’t impact residents’ ability to share their public safety concerns, Ortega said. The committee was not a “functioning body.” City council meetings, where any resident can share their input with the city, fill pretty much the same niche, he said, and there’s “ongoing engagement” between APD, elected officials, city hall, and the community.

“[Ending the committee] does not change public safety services policies, priorities, or accountability mechanisms,” Ortega said. “It simply updates the municipal code by removing a committee that is no longer active.”

Several public commenters disagreed, saying ending the committee would reduce police oversight; Sarah Schaefer clarified that it was never a police oversight committee, though there might be a place for that in the future.

“They weren’t reviewing cases,” she said. “They weren’t reviewing police conduct. They were mostly just making recommendations on various pet projects in the community or needs that they saw or heard about from the public.”

“Oftentimes, the work of these task forces can sunset, and it loses that momentum, and loses the energy behind it because the historical memory is gone,” Schaefer continued. “I think going back to the true root, and what we want, is an important part. Right now repealing this committee makes sense.”

The council voted unanimously in favor of nixing the committee.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Eureka City Schools Board Member Resigns, Opening a Spot For Candidates Who Live in This One Section of Town

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Press release from Eureka City Schools:

At a special meeting on March 31, 2026, the Eureka City Schools Governing Board voted to provisionally appoint Jess Pettitt to serve as Trustee for Area 5. Pettitt will complete the remainder of Jessica Rebholtz’s term, which runs through December 2026.

Pettitt. Profile picture via LinkedIn.

Pettitt, a longtime Eureka resident of 20 years, brings a broad background in education, facilitation, and community-based work. A professional speaker by profession, Pettitt has worked across K-12 and higher education settings, including teaching, curriculum development, mediation, and supporting educators and organizations throughout the region.

The Board conducted interviews with all applicants during the special meeting, asking each candidate to reflect on their experience, connection to Eureka City Schools, and approach to governance. The conversation also focused on the role of a trustee as part of a governance team - balancing accountability, maintaining clear boundaries, and making decisions that reflect the needs of learners and the broader community.

Throughout the process, candidates were asked to speak to issues aligned with ECS’s Designing Tomorrow framework, including equitable access for learners, transparent communication, and the ability to navigate complex or difficult conversations with care and integrity.

Pettitt’s responses reflected a strong belief in public schools as safe spaces that build both academic skills and a sense of belonging, emphasizing curiosity, collaboration, and community connection. She also highlighted the importance of honest, human-centered communication across all parts of a school system to build trust and strengthen relationships.

“As a former teacher myself, getting involved in my local community is important to me, and what better way than serving as an appointed member on the Board of Trustees?” Pettitt asks. “Schools are safe spaces in my neighborhood, serve as polling places, meeting spaces, and serve my neighbors as an employer, and where their children become life-long leaders and learners.”

Superintendent Gary Storts shared, “Jess’s appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to strong, learner-centered governance. She brings both professional expertise and a genuine passion for public schools as places of belonging and opportunity. I look forward to partnering with her and the Board as we continue shaping a future-ready system for all learners.”

Pettitt will be officially seated at the regular board meeting on April 9, 2026.

The provisional appointment allows the Board to continue its work without interruption while staying focused on its goals for students and the community.

For more information about Eureka City Schools, visit this link.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On April 1st, 2026 Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to a residence at the 3500 Block of M St for a report of a burglary.

Upon arrival, officers met with the victim, who reported that an unknown suspect gained access to the residence and stole a large amount of jewelry. Video surveillance indicates the incident occurred on March 31st, 2026, between approximately 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. The suspect was observed wearing an orange facial covering at the time of the incident.

This case remains an open and active investigation.

EPD is requesting anyone with information related to this incident, or anyone who can identify the suspect in the photo or video surveillance contact the Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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California Republicans have an unusual shot of claiming an upset victory in the governor’s race this year — but to win, neither of their candidates can get too far ahead of the other just yet.

With eight major Democratic candidates splitting the liberal vote, both Republican candidates, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could come in first and second in the June 2 primary and move on to the November ballot.

That would shut out Democratic general election candidates, an extraordinary event that pollsters and strategists of both parties agree is the only viable chance for a Republican to become governor. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one in California and the GOP hasn’t won a statewide race in two decades.

Both Republicans can only advance to November if they split the Republican vote essentially evenly, giving each enough to surpass their Democratic opponents. That’s thanks to California’s top-two primary system, in which the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party.

Democrats insist it won’t happen, though they face mounting pressure over the risk in a year when the party is hoping to turn out liberal voters for U.S. House races in November.

And neither Republican is strategizing to shut the Democrats out. Instead of trying to keep the other alive through the primary, Hilton and Bianco are running campaigns like any other candidate: seeking to defeat each other. Hilton has spent the past few months attempting to consolidate Republican support by attacking Bianco, who has been happy to return the ire.

“There’s an amazing irony there, that they need to beat each other but they both need to succeed at the same time,” GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said. “It cuts against human nature and cuts against the way you put together campaigns.”

An intra-Republican primary

Despite very different backgrounds, Hilton and Bianco are running on similar policies.

Hilton is a British political strategist who’s written extensively about populism, reducing bureaucracy and decentralizing power, and Bianco is a bombastic local sheriff who is pushing the boundaries of police authority over elections.

Both are pushing a deregulation agenda, railing against Democratic-backed environmental policies they blame for raising the state’s cost of living. Their targets include the landmark California Environmental Quality Act, which requires environmental reviews for new construction.

Both Republicans also want to reverse prison closures, boost oil production to lower gas prices and reduce or eliminate the 61-cents-a-gallon gas tax.

Hilton wants to shield the first $100,000 of earnings from the state income tax (a goal Democrat Katie Porter shares) and significantly lower taxes on higher earners by cutting 18% of the state budget, including areas he claims are fraudulent or wasteful such as using cannabis tax revenue to support substance abuse programs. Bianco also wants to cut, and bring in oil revenues to eliminate the income tax entirely.

Hilton, one of the race’s top fundraisers, has raised more than $6.6 million so far, exceeding Bianco’s haul by more than $2 million. The two are second and third to Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter in the total number of campaign donors — one measure of popular support.

Polls show they remain neck-and-neck at or near the top of the pack, with one survey released last week by the California Democratic Party showing Hilton and Bianco statistically tied with 16% and 14%, respectively. To be competitive, they each need to win over independent and undecided voters, some of whom lean Republican and most of whom are fixated on the state’s cost of living crisis. The California Republican Party is slated to take an endorsement vote at its convention next weekend.

Each has tried to outrank the other on conservative credentials.

Hilton has attacked Bianco for having “too much baggage” related to liberal causes, pointing to a video showing the sheriff kneeling during the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests, as many police officers did then to de-escalate crowds, and later describing his actions as praying. Under Trump, the FBI this year fired several agents who had done the same.

“It’s a question of character and honesty and judgment,” Hilton said in an interview.

Bianco pointed to the two Republicans’ continued tie in the polls as proof Hilton can’t carry the party. He’s called Hilton, who worked for the conservative U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, “a fraud amongst Republicans” in part because a political crowdfunding startup Hilton co-founded in 2013, Crowdpac, later rebranded to exclusively support Democrats.

And each has aimed to align himself with Trump without saying the president’s name directly. While both are vocal fans of the president, nearly three-quarters of California voters disapprove of him, and Democratic voters in particular are motivated this year to vote against the president’s agenda. Hilton and Bianco have both blasted Democrats for linking the gubernatorial race to Trump.

Hilton, who once called for an audit into Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, is promoting “CalDOGE,” a program to look into reports of fraud and waste in California government. It’s a nod to Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that slashed federal spending and employment last year. So far, as part of the project, Hilton has held press conferences criticizing state grants to nonprofits with advocacy wings that support liberal causes, like stricter environmental laws and holding voter registration drives; he’s vowed to cut them as governor.

Bianco, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 re-election by saying America should “put a felon in the White House,” told KTLA last fall if he had the president’s support he’d downplay it on the campaign trail. Asked last week if he’s seeking the president’s approval, he said he instead wants “the endorsement of every single person in this country.”

“You have an entire Democrat field trying to label me as Donald Trump, and the reason why is because they have absolutely nothing to run on,” he said in an interview.

He has embarked on an unprecedented effort in Riverside County to recount ballots from last year’s special election based on what local elections officials say is inaccurate and flawed raw ballot data, a move that mirrors the Trump administration’s seizure of 2020 ballots in Georgia. But Bianco has insisted it’s not political. The investigation, he said this week, is on hold amid legal challenges.

Who is Bianco?

The ballot seizure is one of the many ways Bianco has courted controversy as county sheriff, a seat to which he was first elected in 2018 with hefty campaign contributions from the union that represents sheriff’s deputies.

The three-decade law enforcement officer and one-time member of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers gained attention in 2020 for fighting state orders to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, refusing to enforce masking or stay-at-home rules or to mandate vaccination for deputies. He also opposes school vaccination laws.

He’s often criticized the state’s sanctuary law that limits police cooperation with federal immigration agents, simultaneously insisting he’ll do everything he legally can to help immigration agents but clarifying to Riverside County residents that deputies do not enforce immigration laws and take reports of crimes from anyone. He’s presided over a spike in deaths in county jails that he’s attributed to fentanyl and suicides, though the state attorney general’s office has opened an investigation.

He has ties to an evangelical pastor in Temecula who helps elect Christian conservatives and is pushing to increase the influence of Christianity in government.

His pitch to voters is that he’s an outsider — and he’s prone to using hyperbole to prove it, calling environmental activists who sue to stop development “terrorists,” promising to “completely destroy special interests” and saying if elected he’d “take a nuclear bomb” to the decisions made in California government.

He’s running, he said, to offer a change from the “crime and corruption” he says has defined state politics and claims he’s the only candidate with strong executive experience (though several Democratic opponents have led state or federal agencies, or major cities.)

He’s endorsed by several law enforcement groups, some of which have also jointly endorsed a Democrat, and funded by campaign contributions from dozens of officers and police chiefs, various business owners and the powerful Peace Office Research Association of California, a special interest with outsize influence at the Capitol. The law enforcement association extends to his title as Riverside sheriff on the ballot, which will give him an edge over Hilton, GOP strategists say.

“Every other person in this race is nothing but a career politician,” he said. “We’re over career politicians, millionaires, billionaires, bright, shiny objects and career politicians and strategists. California is sick of that.”

Who is Hilton?

Hilton, meanwhile, is making lofty promises like $3-a-gallon gas and halving electricity bills, and says he has experience from London to achieve such cuts.

The son of Hungarian immigrants to Britain, Hilton got his start in the Conservative Party there before moving to the private sector and returning to politics as Cameron’s director of strategy from 2010 to 2012.

The British press noted Hilton’s penchant for casual dress and credited him as the ideological force pushing the party to loosen workplace regulations, cut welfare, shrink the size of government, lower taxes and withdraw from the European Union. Hilton was disillusioned with Cameron’s progress, the Washington Post reported, when he left his team after two years to join his wife, tech executive Rachel Whetstone, in California and take a sabbatical at Stanford. The couple still maintain several properties in central London.

“The government has lost its ultimate radical,” The Economist declared of his departure from 10 Downing Street in 2012. “In his visceral disdain for the state, reverence for local communities and commitment to enterprise, he might be the most deeply conservative figure at the very top of this government.”

He founded Crowdpac in 2013 with two partners, a Stanford professor and a Google executive, with the stated goal of getting more people engaged in politics by using software to match their views with candidates they could support financially. The platform, he highlighted at the time, was used by a Black Lives Matter leader to crowdfund a run for Baltimore mayor and by anti-Trump Republicans hoping for a Paul Ryan presidential run. In 2015, he wrote a column in the Guardian supporting a higher minimum wage in Britain and walking back his own prior campaigns against one.

Years later, Hilton left the platform when Crowdpac, having mostly been used by Democrats, stopped helping Republican candidates in what executives called “a stand against Trumpism.” It later shut down and relaunched again as a Democrats-only platform. By then, Hilton had already endorsed Trump for president in 2016 and landed a weekly Fox News show, which ran from 2017 to 2023. He’s now returned fully to his conservative roots, pushing to “massively reduce spending” and regulation the same way he did in the U.K.

“I have a very clear message of change that’s practical and positive and not ideological,” he told CalMatters.

Hilton has raised the third most in the race, behind Democrats Tom Steyer, a self-funding billionaire, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has pulled in millions of dollars primarily from Silicon Valley. Hilton has put $200,000 of his own money into his campaign, and counts among his supporters Uber, Fox Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech executives who have also supported Democrats: Google founder Sergey Brin and Ripple executive Chris Larsen.

Will Democrats really be shut out of the race?

Experts say a Democratic shutout is unlikely, unless the field remains entrenched.

“It depends upon those two Republican candidates who are splitting the Republican vote fairly evenly right now, doing that, and then having more than a half a dozen Democrats with no one that is a leading favorite, which is what we’ve seen so far,” said Mark Baldassare, director of polling at the Public Policy Institute of California. “But one thing I would say is it’s still early.”

Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks has also used that reasoning. He has started an incremental public pressure campaign to prompt lower-polling Democratic candidates to drop out, but the candidates have resisted so far.

Hilton, too, dismissed analyses that both Republicans must advance for either to have a shot of winning the seat, calling it a hypothetical exercise from GOP strategists.

“They don’t know what they’re talking about, I mean these are the kinds of people who have been losing for 20 years,” he said. “The idea that the Democratic Party is just going to concede California is obviously ridiculous. … It’s going to be a Republican against a Democrat.”

Bianco said he’s running against Hilton, whom he called a “career strategist,” as much as any of the Democrats. He said he hasn’t thought too much about who his opponent would be in a general election.

“It really doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’m not doing this for Republicans. I’m not doing it for Democrats, independents, anything like that.”

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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When Kekoa Gittens was 3, his preschool teacher told his mother he was a problem. He couldn’t sit still. He didn’t participate. When other kids learned the alphabet, he didn’t pay attention.

The next year, Kekoa’s classroom problems worsened. His mother, Sonia Gittens, took him to his pediatrician, who referred the boy to an eye doctor.

That doctor looked at the back of Kekoa’s eyes and diagnosed him with myopic degeneration, a dramatic form of nearsightedness.

“They are too little. They don’t know how to express themselves and say ‘I cannot see it, teacher,’” said Sonia Gittens, who lives in the Marin County town of Corte Madera.

Today, Kekoa is a successful high schooler, but too many kids don’t get their eyes checked until they’re far behind in school.

Vision problems, particularly nearsightedness, have grown more common among American children. Roughly one in four school-age kids, or 25%, wear glasses or contacts, a proportion that increases as kids get older, according to 2019 federal survey data.

In California too few children on Medi-Cal like Kekoa are getting their eyes checked, and the problem is growing worse. Just 16% of school-age kids on Medi-Cal saw an eye doctor between 2022 and 2024 for first-time eye exams, continuing vision check ups or glasses, according to a report commissioned by the California Optometric Association. That’s down from 19% eight years earlier. The report, based on two years of Medi-Cal data, suggests that the state is moving in the wrong direction even as eye problems become more prevalent among kids.

Medi-Cal provides insurance for low-income Californians and those with disabilities.

“Every day when I see these children it is always a surprise to me that the kids are not getting the care they need,” said Ida Chung, a pediatric optometrist and an associate dean at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.

Kekoa Gittens used to wear glasses when he was younger. Photo courtesy of Sonia Gittens

The trend indicated in the report is alarming, Chung said. In her clinic, where about half of children are on Medi-Cal, it’s common for kids with congenital vision problems to visit for the first time when they’re in first grade or later. That indicates to Chung that many kids don’t have enough access to eye care.

Though kids might be getting basic vision screenings at school or from a pediatrician, some eye problems are still overlooked. “It’s something the child had before they were born,” Chung said.

Eye exams decrease statewide

Colusa County, a rural farming region north of Sacramento, saw the sharpest drop in kids’ eye doctor appointments in the state from 20% between 2015-16 to just under 2% between 2022-24.

Nearly all counties — 47 out of 58 — performed worse on vision care than they did in the past, the report shows, with some, like Colusa, declining significantly.

Most of the severe declines happened in rural areas, although urban counties like San Francisco and Los Angeles also saw decreases. Only seven counties improved the rate of children receiving eye exams or glasses. Four counties were excluded for comparison in the report because the numbers were too small.

“The decline in performance here is so widespread that something really needs to happen,” said David Maxwell-Jolly, a health care consultant who authored the report and the former director of the Department of Health Care Services, which oversees Medi-Cal. “These numbers are way lower than what you would expect to be seeing if we’re doing a good job of detecting kids with treatable conditions.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health Care Services said in an email the state could not confirm the accuracy of an external report, noting that vision services can be difficult to track because “not all encounters are captured in a single, comprehensive dataset.”

For example, many initial vision screenings take place in the pediatrician’s office during well-child visits, which include eye and hearing screenings as well as immunizations and developmental checks. State data shows about half of kids with Medi-Cal receive well-child visits.

Still, experts say the low numbers tell a real story: if children were reliably getting follow-up care from initial screenings, the share who get comprehensive eye exams and glasses would be closer to 25-30% — in line with the known prevalence of vision problems among kids — rather than the 16% found in the optometric association’s report.

Maxwell-Jolly said the analysis he conducted was based on an internal, unpublished department report tracking vision services.

The state’s most recent Preventive Services Report, which measures how well Medi-Cal delivers preventive care to children, shows the rate of comprehensive eye exams for children and young adults ages 6-21 is similar to the optometric association’s analysis at 17%.

Contra Costa County experienced the third largest decline in children’s eye care in the state. A spokesperson for Contra Costa Health Plan said Medi-Cal health plans are not required by the state to track vision benefits and that it would take time to understand the data. The state, however, does track vision services internally, according to the health care services department.

A bill sponsored by the optometric association and authored by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, a Democrat from Cupertino, aims to require the state to establish vision benefit quality measures and report performance data publicly. The goal of the legislation is to track where kids do not have enough access to vision services and to ensure that Medi-Cal providers are improving services.

Rural challenges

Amy Turnipseed, chief strategy and government affairs officer for Partnership HealthPlan of California, said rural parts of the state struggle to find enough providers. The nonprofit health insurer provides Medi-Cal for 24 northern counties, including Colusa and Modoc.

In Modoc County, which borders Oregon and Nevada, one optometrist serves a 90-mile radius. Partnership has worked closely with that optometrist to ensure they continue accepting Medi-Cal patients, Turnipseed said.

“In rural counties with lower populations, losing even one provider can exponentially impact the access to services to families,” Turnipseed said. “In the past few years we’ve seen vision providers reduce or limit their Medi-Cal, which makes it harder for families to see providers.”

An assortment of glasses at Vision to Learn mobile optometry clinic at Esther Lindstrom Elementary School in Lakewood on March 20, 2026. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Modoc is one of just seven counties where more children have received vision care in recent years, according to the report.

Providers frequently cite low reimbursement rates from the state as a reason for not accepting Medi-Cal patients. The California Optometric Association estimates only about 10% of its members accept Medi-Cal. The reimbursement rate for a comprehensive eye exam is about $47, said Kristine Shultz, association executive director.

“Our reimbursement rates haven’t increased in 25 years. Imagine getting paid what you were paid 25 years ago,” Shultz said.

Schools check kids’ vision, but follow-up is spotty

State law requires schools to periodically check kids’ vision starting in kindergarten. Those screenings are a good bellwether for if a child is struggling to see in class, said Chung with Western University. The problem is getting the kids who fail the screening to an eye doctor.

Chung runs an academic optometry clinic that works with local schools in Pomona. Each year up to 35% of students fail the screening, meaning they likely have a vision problem. But based on conversations with school nurses, Chung said only about 7% of those children then go to an eye doctor and come back to school with glasses.

Chung, who chairs the children’s vision committee for the California Optometric Association, said colleagues who work with school districts around the state report similar experiences.

“If a high number of those children are not getting the follow up care, we may just be fooling ourselves and checking a box,” Chung said. “We’re in compliance with the law in California but are we really helping the children?”

Kekoa Gittens is now 15 years old and wears contacts. Photo courtesy of Sonia Gittens

For some families, the answer is no. That’s what happened to Kekoa when he was 3. The school checked his eyes and said he might have vision problems, but his mother, Gittens, waited. Her son was still learning his numbers and letters. How would he be able to read an eye chart, she reasoned. It wasn’t until his problems got worse that Gittens took Kekoa to an eye doctor.

Now, at 15, Kekoa wears contacts and likes athletics. He needs to see to compete in capoeira martial arts competitions and surf on the weekends, his mother said.

First: Dr. Kiyana Kavoussi shows letters on a monitor during Noah Mattison’s, 11, visual acuity test. Last: Optician Maya Ortega looks at Italia Martin’s, 6, eyes before she chooses new glasses inside the Vision to Learn mobile optometry clinic at Esther Lindstrom Elementary School in Lakewood on March 20, 2026. Photos by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Many parents lack the resources to take their kids to the doctor, or simply wait. Notes from school nurses flagging that a child failed a vision screening may also get lost in a backpack on the way home, educators say. The California Department of Education does not track the results of school vision screenings.

Vision To Learn, a nonprofit, created a mobile eye clinic to help bridge the gap between kids failing school vision screenings and getting glasses. The group brings an optometrist to campus, meaning kids that need an eye exam can get one the same day and go home having gotten a prescription and ordered glasses.

Damian Carroll, chief of staff and national director, said Vision to Learn’s numbers tell a similar story to Chung’s. About one-third of students screened are unable to read the eye chart, but very few of those kids have adequate glasses.

In the California schools where the program operates, around 70% of kids who have been prescribed glasses did not own a pair. Another 20% had glasses with outdated prescriptions, according to internal data, Carroll said.

And that gap can drastically affect learning outcomes or behavior in school.

“First and second graders who try on glasses the first time are blown away because they just thought that’s how the world looked,” Carroll said. “They can see the leaves on the trees and the math on the board, and it’s shocking to them.”

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Nathan Eugene ‘Eagle’ French passed away on March 28, 2026. Born in Eureka to Ronald and Gloria French on May 9, 1968, Nathan was known for his big smile and love of sports. He enjoyed playing football, baseball, and softball for the Night Spirits and traveling to tournaments. Nathan was deeply loved and will be missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him.

​Nathan was a kind man who could often be found with a smile on his face. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth “Punkin” (Smiling) French; parents, Ronald and Gloria; grandparents, Donald and Daisy French, and Lewis and Lydia Sanderson; uncle, Gary Markussen Sr.; uncle, Albert Sr.; Albert Jr. “Bubba” Llewellyn; sister-in-law, Tracey Masten; and nephew, Llewellyn French Jr.

He is survived by Ronald French Jr., Cheree French-Bowie, and Llewellyn French Sr. (Tracy French). He is also survived by his uncle, Daniel French Sr., and his children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his nephews, Kapel Robbins of Loleta, and Franklin Donahue and his children: Eugene Donahue, Franklin Donahue Jr., and Raider Donahue of Yreka. He is survived by his niece, Lydia Robbins (and the late Israel “Chilo” Renteria) of Rio Dell; his great-nieces and great-nephews: Myriah “Bear” (David Rodriguez), Stormy Star, Ronald Robbins Marshall, Evelina Robbins, Gloria Robbins Salinas, Guillermo “Momo” Robbins Salinas, Dwayne “Ishi” Robbins Salinas, Maria Esther “Sweetie” Renteria Robbins, and Julian Jay “Pollito” Renteria Robbins.

He is also survived by his niece, Trisha Ray French (Loren Ray Sr.) and LJ; Gregory Gilbert; daughter-in-law, Amanda Marshall (French); Kami French; and Kyle French and his partner, Soriah Herrera.

He leaves behind many beloved great-nieces and great-nephews: Alexandria Gilbert, Ethan French, Loren Ray Jr., Mila Ryan, Jordan Gilbert, Silas French, Koda Ryan, Ellen Gilbert, Kahea Ryan, Samera Medina, and Romina French.

Honorary Pallbearers:

Sylvester Brown, Frankie Donahue, Ricky Sanderson, Kapel Robbins, Ronnie Robbins, Rodney Robbins, Everett “Muss” Colgrove, Harold Sonny Jones Jr., Willie Lamebear, Walter Grey, Julian Markussen Jr., Roy Robinson, and Jeremy Houston.

The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the Hospice of Humboldt nursing staff and social workers for the profound compassion and expert care they provided during Nathan’s final days. We also wish to share a special thank you to Roy Robinson and Sylvester Brown for their unwavering support. Our sincere appreciation goes to Chairman Joe James and the Yurok Tribe for their leadership and community strength, as well as to Paramdeep Hira and Kelly for their kindness and dedicated presence.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2026, at the “Pink Church” located off Highway 96 in Hoopa, California. Following the service, family and friends are invited to gather for a meal at the Trading Post. To honor our loved one’s spirit of community, guests are invited to bring a dish to share; your contribution would be highly appreciated.

Frank Edward Weaver Sr.
February 9, 1941 - March 30, 2026

With a heavy heart, the family of Frank Edward Weaver Sr. announces his peaceful passing at Seaview Retirement in Eureka on March 30, 2026. Frank leaves behind a lifelong community of friendships built on kindness.

Frank was born in Madera, Calif., to Nobel and Vivian (Fern) Weaver, and was the middle son. He married Donna Louise Coiner in 1958 in Humboldt County. They had four children together: Frank Edward Weaver Jr., Cynthia Ann Weaver, Penny Jean Weaver and Toni Marie Weaver.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Noble and Vivian (Fern) Weaver, his dear brothers, James Anderson Weaver and Robert B. Weaver,  his son, Frank Edward Weaver Jr., and ex-wife Donna Louise

Frank is survived by his daughters, Cynthia Ann Westphal, Penny Jean McDermott, and Toni Marie Weaver, and grandchildren, Anthony A. Apostalo III, Levi R. Westphal, Jarred Westphal, Samantha L. McDermott, Patrick T. Mobley, and Zachary V. Weaver, as well as 14 great-grandchildren, his 2 nephews, James and Jason, and 3 nieces, Vicky, Midge and Lisa.

Frank will be remembered for his love of family, friends, community, nature, and all creatures wild and domestic. He will be missed by many.

There will be a private service for his family, where his ashes will be scattered per his request in his beloved river with his father and brother.