The Arcata City Council named Christian Ortega as the Arcata’s Police Department’s new chief of police at their meeting Wednesday night to an enthusiastic crowd. 

Ortega will take command of the APD in December; until then, Chief Bart Silvers will remain the head of the department. 

Ortega joined the APD in 2005 before becoming a sergeant in 2016 and a lieutenant in 2024. During that time, he’s held positions on the Drug Task Force, the Major Crimes Task Force, and the Sexual Assault Response Team. He’s also worked as a detective and a background investigator.

A few public commenters spoke up to say that his appointment pleased them, and that during some previous involvements with law enforcement, he had done a good job trying to help them out. 

Councilmember Kimberley White also praised Ortega at the meeting, especially his abilities to speak Spanish and connect with Latino community members, recounting a time where a woman at a sanctuary-city town hall was moved to tears by his dependability. 

“I’m thrilled that Lieutenant Ortega has been chosen as Arcata’s new police chief,” White said. “…Chris will be a community-oriented chief that understands what the citizens and council are looking for in policing a community. And finally, Lieutenant Ortega is an embodiment of a peace officer promoting community and safety engagement.”

Ortega couldn’t be reached at APD headquarters for comment as of publication.

Press release from the Redwood Coast Gymnastics Booster Club:

The Redwood Coast Gymnastics team delivered a standout performance at the Stars Challenge in Redwood City on September 20 & 21st, where 12 gymnasts competed, including eight making their debut at a new level. In an impressive team showing, every gymnast qualified for the upcoming State Championship.

Leading the way in the Level 3 competition, Hannah Naylor earned 2nd place all-around in the Junior A division with a score of 36.775, highlighted by 3rd place finishes on bars (9.3) and floor (9.35). In the Junior B division, Jessie Bestul claimed 3rd place overall (36.0), along with 3rd on floor (9.25) and 5th on bars (8.825). Other notable Level 3 finishes included Zoey Long’s 3rd place on bars (9.0), Annika Dieker’s 4th place on beam (8.9), Laura Barkdull’s 9.0 on floor, Cara West’s 8.85 on vault, and Abigail Clair’s 8.525 on floor.

At Level 4, Myiah Punch led the team in the Junior B division with a 35.1 all-around, including a standout 9.15 on beam. Additional highlights included Maya Dalton’s 4th place on floor (9.15), Addie Bellermann’s 5th place on bars (8.8), and Aubrey Dalton’s career highs on vault (8.8) and bars (8.8).

Competing at the highest compulsory level, Level 5 gymnast Momo Baxter debuted her routines with strong performances on vault (8.75) and floor (8.8).

“We had a number of girls performing for the first time at new levels and I’m glad that they had a good first experience,” said Redwood Coast Gymnastics head coach Brian Van Pelt. “I thought it was a fairly good meet. While not perfect, it’s a good starting point for the season.”

The team, which trains at Flips for Kids Gymnastics in Eureka, now turns its focus to the Pink Meet Invitational, scheduled for October 11–12 in Fremont, CA.

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Nearly 200 grangers from rural communities across California will descend upon the Van Duzen River Grange in Carlotta next week for the 150th Annual State Grange Convention — a five-day event (Oct. 8-12) featuring business sessions and award ceremonies for grange delegates, agricultural workshops and tours of local businesses.  

“We want to show off what makes Humboldt special and what makes our little piece of Earth unique,” Ryann Petersen, president of the Van Duzen River Grange, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “A lot of the people coming have never been to Humboldt County or traveled this far north before, so we’ve set up some local agricultural tours and field trips … to show what a lot of people do and thrive on here in Humboldt.”

Image: California State Grange

Grangers will explore the salmon habitat with members of the Van Duzen Watershed Foundation, visit the historic one-room log school house on Child’s Ranch in Redcrest and tour several local businesses, including the Humboldt Redwood Company Lumber Mill in Scotia, Humboldt Distillery in Fortuna, Lotta Farms cannabis dispensary in Carlotta, College of the Redwoods’ educational farm in Shively and Chapman’s Gem & Mineral Shop in Fortuna.

Why host the convention way out in Carlotta? At last year’s State Grange Convention in Woodland, Petersen and Kathy Moley, secretary for the Humboldt Hill Grange, pitched the idea of holding the 150th annual event here in Humboldt, since the convention has only been held here twice before. The board of directors enthusiastically agreed.

“The work the [Van Duzen River Grange] has put into the hall has been so encouraging to see,” State Grange President and CEO Joseph Stefenoni told the Outpost. “In 150 years, this will be the third time we have met in Humboldt County. … We’re happy to see the grange active again and benefiting the community.”

Holding the State Grange Convention in Carlotta is especially significant because, just a few years ago, the Van Duzen River Grange was embroiled in a legal battle with the State Grange. It’s a long, messy history you can read all about here and here, but the short of it is, a rift between the California State Grange and National Grange led most of California’s local grange halls to separate from the organization. 

Between 2018 and 2020, several local halls, including the Van Duzen River Grange, had their charters revoked and legally changed their names from “grange” to “guild” or “community hall” in an effort to maintain local control of the properties, which led to a string of lawsuits. Ultimately, the Van Duzen River Guild, as it was called at the time, decided to rejoin the ranks and reestablish itself as a grange.

“We are very fortunate that that rift is behind us,” Stefenoni said, adding that all of Humboldt County’s granges are active again. “Van Duzen [River Grange] is an amazing success story, and it was actually Ryann [Petersen] who reached out to the State Grange and began the discussion in late 2023 of how to get the grange active again. By January 2024, we came together and held a community meeting to reorganize the grange, and I think 117 people signed up to be grange members that night.”

Since its charter was reestablished, locals have been working on repairs around the building, which got a fresh coat of paint and a brand new sign over the summer. 

“Our goal is to work towards getting more live music and events happening out here,” Petersen said. “Really, we’re just a group of passionate community members who are excited about using the space again. I’ll tell ya, two years ago, I did not see myself hosting the State Grange Convention, but it’s been really fun!”

Hosting the convention here in Humboldt means locals will have the opportunity to showcase some of what makes our community unique. All of the produce at the convention will be sourced from local farmers, Petersen said, adding that some fruits and vegetables will come from the grange’s very own community garden.

“We’ve also partnered with the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce to make sure our visitors know about local places,” Petersen continued. “If they don’t want to eat with us, there are great local restaurants they can check out. If the whole family comes up, but mom and dad are in meetings all day, we’ve made a list of cool places they can visit, whether it’s the Trinidad Lighthouse or Centerville Beach. We want to make sure that they get to experience as much of Humboldt County’s beauty as they can.

Moley added that the State Grange Convention gives local grangers an opportunity to “share this fine place we call home, with all its beauty and abundant agriculture.”

“Convention is a time and a place where Grangers put their hearts and souls together, pass resolutions and make policies which will shape the way we move forward for the next 150 years,” she said. “The Annual State Grange Convention was last held in Humboldt County in the mid-1970s. Many things have changed since then, and now, as it has been many times in the past, it is imperative that we gather as a community and work together towards shaping our future.”

The State Grange Convention will be held at the Van Duzen River Grange next week, Oct. 8-12. Registration has closed, but you can check out this year’s itinerary at this link.

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Discussion of the U-Haul item at the Planning Commission meeting last night.

PREVIOUSLY:

• The McKinleyville U-Haul’s Request for 22 New Exterior Signs May Finally Be Decided Tonight

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Last night the Humboldt County Planning Commission, on a vote of 3 to 1, allowed the U-Haul mega-center in McKinleyville some of the controversial signage it’s been asking for, while at the same time scaling back other aspects of the proposed design.

In response to community input, the commission decided to deny several of the more decorative signs proposed at the U-Haul complex, which occupies both the old Ray’s Food Place and the old K-Mart in the Mill Creek Market complex at the south end of Central Avenue.

In addition, the commission asked staff to work with the business to reduce the size of some of the signs designed to provide directions to patrons of the U-Haul.

Planner Alice Vasterling, who opened the meeting with a short staff report, told commissioners that the planning department had received 19 letters or emails since the commission last talked about the matter in early September. Two of the letters were in favor of the signage and 17 were opposed, she said.

People who oppose the proposed signage — which would have gone beyond what is allowed by regular standards, thus requiring special approval — believe that it would impart an “industrial” feel to the town, and is out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood.

“McKinleyville needs businesses to serve the local community and create meaningful jobs for the community,” said McKinleyville resident Charles Perkins at last night’s meeting. “A self-service storage facility will not create significant number of jobs and more signs is not going to change that fact.”

Dale Huber, manager of the U-Haul location, made a brief case for the application as it stood, and particularly for the orange signs depicting roll-up gates, which some commissioners had questions about.

“Only about like six are where they have letters and stuff,” he said. “It’s our address that we’re trying to get on there. And the storage doors, we wouldn’t even, if we painted on them, we wouldn’t even need a permit. All I’m just trying to say is … we definitely need them.”

After a bit of discussion, the commission voted to approve U-Haul’s application, but only on condition that the orange roll-up gate signs be denied, and that some directional signs — such as the “Drive-In Storage” sign depicted above — be reduced in scale.

Commissioner Thomas Mulder — who had been supportive of U-Haul’s plans in past meetings, was the lone “no” vote on this compromise solution. After the vote was taken, he made sure that U-Haul knew that it had 10 days to appeal the decision to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

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

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Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have tightened rules on how police in California use automated license plate readers, saying the regulations would impede criminal investigations.

The Legislature approved the proposal last month amid reports police were misusing the data, including a CalMatters story in June showing that officers on more than 100 occasions violated a state law against sharing the data with federal authorities and others outside the state.

The veto comes as new CalMatters reporting shows Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies appear to have violated internal policy by not documenting the specific incident details related to the plate’s tracking.

In his veto message this week, Newsom cited examples of how the proposed restrictions, which would have required police to better document their searches and delete some of their data within two months, could stymie police work.

“For example,” he wrote, “it may not be apparent, particularly with respect to cold cases, that license plate data is needed to solve a crime until after the 60-day retention period has elapsed.”

But evidence is growing that the technology is being misused. Records newly reviewed by CalMatters indicate that Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies are misusing “hotlists” that allow them to automatically monitor for certain cars.

The measure vetoed by the governor, Senate Bill 274, would have limited the kinds of license plate monitoring lists agencies can use to those related to missing persons or license plate lists maintained by the National Crime Information Center or California Department of Justice. It also would have required data security and privacy training for officers who use the tech and force them to document which specific case or task force work a search is related to.

The bill also would have required agencies to delete some collected data within 60 days and instructed the state Department of Justice to perform random audits of how license plate technology is used.

The proposal drew opposition from nearly 30 law enforcement agencies and associations, including the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the California Police Chiefs Association. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office opposed the bill because a requirement to delete data after two months could ”mean the difference between solving a murder and letting a killer walk free,” according to a letter written by sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor.

Automated license plate readers can assist criminal investigations or help find stolen cars or missing people, but they can also make errors that lead to false arrests, or enable misuse for personal reasons.

A database of license plate lists from July to August reviewed by CalMatters shows that the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which has a network of more than 500 cameras, maintained hundreds of custom license plate lists from July to August, adding more than 700 plates to the lists in that time. Close to 100 of the plates tracked in lists were added using vague justifications, which makes it difficult to verify if deputies complied with laws and policies around use of the technology. Under department policy, tracking lists must include, among other things, “specific incident details.”

It’s not clear if deputies properly shared all hotlists with supervisors. Some have names that contain words like “personal” or “private.” A total of 32 of them have access permissions limiting alerts of a plate sighting to a single user. Riverside County Sheriff’s office automated license plate reader policy states that “no user shall create a custom hot list accessible only to themselves.”

A spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an email that it is common practice for deputies to create personal hotlists tracking license plates and that all deputies are able to create such lists. Asked about vague justifications attached to some lists, they wrote, “These entries are related to criminal investigations.” The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to questions about whether some deputy hotlists violated policy.

The database shows that deputies have several practices that would have been outlawed had Newsom signed the bill to further regulate license plate readers.

In the Riverside license plate hotlist data examined by CalMatters, over 90% of the license plate entries added to tracking in July and August left the case field blank, which would have been prohibited under the bill.

Last month, Briana Ortega filed a lawsuit against the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Chad Bianco, and Deputy Eric Piscatella. Ortega alleges that after she met Piscatella at a festival in Coachella in September 2023, he stalked her in order to pursue a romantic relationship with her by illegally obtaining her phone number and address through a sheriff’s office database, then repeatedly running her license plate through Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and state database without legal cause. Piscatella pled guilty to seven counts of misusing sheriff’s department databases in July.

It’s unclear whether automated license plate readers played a role in deputy Piscatella’s misconduct.

When asked if Deputy Piscatella used ALPR to track Ortega’s whereabouts before the misconduct came to light, a department spokesperson told CalMatters “This information is part of an ongoing investigation.”

Police in other states have misused license plate readers. Earlier this year in Florida, a police officer was accused by police investigators of using automated license plate readers to stalk his girlfriend for seven months. Last year, a Kansas police chief resigned after a state commission said he used the tech to track an ex-girlfriend. Another Kansas police officer was arrested for allegedly using license plate readers to stalk his estranged wife.

Police and sheriff’s departments have a history of violating other laws by using license plate readers. A CalMatters investigation in June found that roughly a dozen law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California shared data with federal immigration agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, a violation of a California law that went into effect 10 years ago. That same log had tens of thousands of searches with no clear justification.

Records requests by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 2023 found that 71 law enforcement agencies violated the state law against sharing license plate reader data with out-of-state agencies and the federal government. In the wake of those findings, Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an advisory to police with specific guidance on how to comply with the law.

Since 2024, Bonta’s office has sent letters to 18 law enforcement agencies across California for possible violations of state law, from sheriff’s offices in Contra Costa and Sacramento County in Northern California to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the El Cajon Police Department in San Diego County. California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the city of El Cajon today alleging that the El Cajon Police Department repeatedly shared license plate reader data with law enforcement agencies in 26 states.

“This technology is ungovernable, given the number of agencies, interests, and impossibility of true compliance enforcement,” said UC San Diego associate professor Lilly Irani in response to the veto.

Irani is part of the steering committee for TRUST SD Coalition, a group of more than 30 organizations that’s pressuring the city of San Diego to end use of automated license plate readers.

The popularity of license plate readers among law enforcement agencies isn’t keeping up with the necessary civil liberty and privacy protections, said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program, a group that opposes how surveillance tech impacts migrant communities in places like El Cajon. He thinks the governor missed an opportunity to have random audits of police departments to ensure compliance with existing law and protect against abuse of power

“If there is any misuse, how can we be sure that that type of misuse or recent practices aren’t repeated if the agencies that are using them aren’t being held accountable?” he said.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On October 2, 2025, at about 3:13 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 400 block of Quarry Road in Trinidad for a report of shots fired. The victim, a 48-year-old Trinidad woman, told deputies that the suspect known to her only as “Susan” fired a gun inside the residence while she was cleaning.

Deputies later located the suspect, who initially identified herself as Susan Anderson. She was ultimately confirmed to be 61-year-old Susan Andersen-Drumm of Fort Collins, Colorado, wanted on a nationwide extraditable warrant out of Colorado.

During the investigation, deputies obtained a search warrant for the residence. A revolver, ammunition, and evidence of a bullet being fired inside the home were recovered. Andersen-Drumm was taken into custody without further incident.

She was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on the following charges:

• P.C 245(a)(2) - Assault with a Firearm 
• P.C. 246.3(a) - Negligent Discharge of a Firearm 
• P.C. 1551(a) - Fugitive from Justice 
• P.C. 148.9 (a) - Provide False Information to Peace Officer 

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. 

I’ve always felt that there was something luxurious about days when I am able to go car-free. The fact that I can ride my bike, walk or take the bus to get to work (or wherever) means:

1. that I have enough time, something that is a luxury in a life where I often feel like I am rushing from one thing to the next,
2. that I am feeling well enough physically to haul my body around, and
3. that my bike is in working order.

When all of these things line up, I get the luxury of leaving my car at home. Getting around without a car requires more planning, but it can also mean there is more time to interact with the world. I can take the time to talk with my fellow humans while waiting at the bus stop; make eye contact with the seals as I ride along the Bay; watch birds and pet random cats; all things that I cannot do when piloting a steel box down the road.

I spent the better part of a decade without a car, so I’ve had some practice getting around this way. Currently I live in Eureka and work in Arcata, so I can access the best bike infrastructure and public transportation anywhere in the county. I have my bike bag ready with tools and a rain jacket. I know where to catch the bus and when. I have a local map in my head (and on my wall) and am in the habit of planning my errands so I can take care of them neighborhood by neighborhood. I am physically able to walk and bike and have big enough bags to carry most of what I need.

I was feeling pretty cocky about my ability to get myself where I needed to go this week, but all of my experience involves just getting me around. Not driving for a week wasn’t going to change my regular routine too much, but on Tuesdays I pick my two-year-old niece up from daycare at College of the Redwoods, and adding a toddler into the mix was a fun diversion from my regular transportation pattern.

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On this particular Tuesday, I was also volunteering at the AHHA shower van under the Samoa Bridge from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I often ride my bike to shower services, but usually have time to ride home, grab something to eat and let my dog out before driving to CR to get the kiddo. Not driving meant I needed to pack snacks and walk my dog before leaving the house for the day. I live at the bottom of a hill on a dead end street, so no matter what, my commute (or dog walk) starts with an uphill climb. This is also one of the reasons that I plan my trips: I don’t want to go up that hill more than I need to. The first time I did it on Tuesday, with my dog, was before the sun came up. I don’t love getting up before the sun, but every time that I’m forced to do so, I’m happy I did. Watching the sky gradually lighten while listening to the birds makes me feel like I am actually, actively connected to the world around me. The second time I walked up the hill that morning I was pushing a bike packed with everything I would need for my day.

Well, almost everything. I’d been fretting a little bit about taking my niece on a bus adventure. Not about the ride itself, but about how I was going to get her to and from the bus if she was tired. I decided I needed a stroller. Fortunately her mother works a block away from a Redwood Transit bus stop and I was able to stash my bike at her salon and grab a stroller before getting the bus.

Pushing a stroller around town has made me much more aware of the infrastructure challenges faced by people who use wheelchairs. There are a surprising number of sidewalks – especially in residential areas – that don’t have curb ramps: they just end, and you have to either plunge off the curb into the street (doable with a stroller because you can pop a wheelie) or go out of your way to find a place to cross. Sometimes that means using someone’s driveway and then riding/walking in the gutter until you can cross. I’ve found these situations to be great opportunities to rant to the two-year-old about transportation infrastructure. I’m sure she’ll thank me someday.

It turns out taking a toddler on public transportation is fun! And definitely not boring. I can’t even count the number of times I said, “Sit down. Put your butt in the seat. No, seriously.” But also, I got to experience a bus ride from her point of view. What a magical thing that we all get to ride on this giant vehicle together, look out windows while someone else drives, people-watch (the bus from CR is packed) and then pull the cord that goes “Ding!” when we want to get off. We will definitely be working this into our pick-up routine more often.

On the way home on Tuesday evening there was a killer double rainbow which I was easily able to stop and appreciate because I was on foot. I walked backwards down the street so I could stare at it. Can’t do that in a car.

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Making the commitment to not drive this week has made me think about the days that I do choose to drive. Often it’s because I’m in a hurry and didn’t plan well enough to be able to bike, or it’s because I have something heavy or large to transport, like building materials, groceries, or other humans. Conversely, not driving means that I have to think twice before taking things from free boxes (Is it heavy? Do I have room in my basket?), which is probably a good thing.

I also have friends and colleagues who don’t have cars, so I often get to play chauffeur. It makes me feel good to help people get where they need to go, and I have to confess that I will cheat once this week. On Friday I will drive a group of artists, none of whom have cars, from Our Space in Arcata to Eureka to go on a Madaket cruise with Humboldt Waterkeeper. The car will be full, though, so I think we get efficiency points for that.

I do think it’s important to acknowledge that my ability to easily get around without a car is a confluence of a number of factors, one of which is that I don’t have family that I need to transport on a daily basis. My stepchildren are young adults who don’t rely on me for transportation. In fact, one of them can drive me around if I need it. I also live in the most bikeable, walkable, busable areas in the county; it’s not perfect, but I feel safer than if I had to walk or bike along the highway everyday. Physical activity is an important part of my mental health regimen, so it’s convenient that transportation can be my physical activity for the day. I also love staring at clouds, and waiting for the bus is the perfect reason to stare into the distance.

With a little bit of planning, getting around without a car can be easy and fun. You might learn new things about your city. It can be helpful to start small and do it for pleasure before you start commuting. That way you can learn your way around without feeling rushed. And if you get a chance, take a toddler on the bus. It’s fun.

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Caroline Griffith has served on the City of Eureka Transportation Safety Commission since 2019. 

The national Week Without Driving runs from September 29 through October 5, 2025. It is an opportunity for participating public officials and other community members to get first-hand insights into the way many seniors, kids, people with disabilities, low-income people, and other non-drivers navigate our communities. Each day during the week, the Lost Coast Outpost is publishing reflections from local participants. For more information, visit this link.