Earlier today, a real estate broker named JoAnn Wall reached out to the Outpost. She said she had been reading old articles about the collapse of Sun Valley Floral Farms on our site, and she had an idea: Maybe we knew of some community non-profit organization or something that might want to buy that land from her client?
We asked if she would like us to share her query with the Outpost readership, and she conferred with her colleagues and decided that would be good. She composed a statement for us to print.
That statement is below:
My
name is JoAnn
Wall and
I
am
an agricultural real estate broker with Legacy and Land Group.
Alongside my partners at Cushman & Wakefield, we represent Store
Capital, the current owner of the former Sun Valley Greenhouse
facility in Arcata. As many in our community know, this property has
seen better days. Even prior to foreclosure, the site has not
received the care or attention that it deserves for many years, and
it currently stands at a crossroads.
Yet,
in that challenge lies an extraordinary opportunity.
The
property’s scale, location, and history make it uniquely suited for
a new chapter that could serve the public interest for generations to
come. Whether restored as open space, repurposed for habitat
restoration, transformed into a community agricultural hub, or used
for another conservation-minded purpose, this site holds meaningful
potential to contribute to the health and vitality of the North Coast
region.
With
this in mind, we are actively seeking productive
conversations with
local, state, and national conservation organizations, land trusts,
environmental partners, and community stakeholders who may share that
vision and have funding available to purchase this property. Our goal
is to identify an ownership or stewardship path that prioritizes
long-term benefit to both the community and the surrounding natural
environment.
If
you, your organization, or someone you know may be interested in
exploring what is possible here, we would be grateful to connect.
Collaboration, creativity, and local insight will be key to shaping
an outcome that reflects the values of Arcata and Humboldt County.
This
property is at a moment of reset. With the right partners, it can
become something positive again. Thank you for your time, your
consideration, and your care for this property.
Arcata’s city council meeting stretched ‘til almost 11 p.m. last night as dozens of residents showed up to complain about proposed changes to the city’s rules on addressing the council.
City staff recommended that the council alter the City Officials’ Protocol Manual to eliminate a public comment period early on in the meeting and require commenters to show up at the meeting in-person, nixing the option to call in and talk on the Zoom livestream.
After an hour and a half of deliberations and feedback from the public, the council decided they wouldn’t make either of those changes, though they did decide to add a city manager’s report to every council meeting and rules for kicking out disruptive audience members, as well as a few other minor procedural alterations.
City staff and the council members had had some gripes with the Zoom commenting. Commenters would sometimes speak multiple times under different aliases; some city employees privately blamed it for fostering a culture permissive of anonymous personal attacks on other commenters and policy-makers alike; and some city staff and at least one councilmember, Mayor Alex Stillman, said she didn’t like how many of the Zoom commenters focused on global politics instead of city-related issues. Because Arcata is home to fewer than 30,000 people, city hall doesn’t have to offer a televideo conferencing option after SB 707 passed last month.
Zoom commenting is, however, an easy way for people with disabilities and time constraints to share their thoughts, an opinion shared by the many who spoke against the suggested alterations.
“Going forth with banning Zoom is a load of shit, any way you slice it,” said one in-person commenter. “By definition, there will be people who cannot get here under any circumstances that will be censored entirely.”
“Getting rid of Zoom? Bad idea,” said another. “Come on. I think almost all of you realize what a really, really bad anti-democratic look that would be…We want you to look good! We love the stuff you do for the city! Keep doing it!”
City manager Merritt Perry said in an interview with the Outpost this morning that, as one of the staff who suggested the changes, he had mainly hoped to stop people from talking multiple times and to encourage commenters to be a little more respectful of other speakers and city officials, as well as to make relations between the council and the public more personal. However, he said that his mind had been changed by the public who showed up to argue in favor of Zoom, and thought the council ended up making the right decision.
“I think it was a mistake to include that, and I think the community made a lot of incredibly good points about how Zoom is important for accessibility, how there’s a lot of people who can’t make it to the meetings,” Perry said. “I think I was really focused more on what some of the benefits would be but not focusing on how important it was to other members of the community who really need that platform to get to our meetings. I think it was a mistake to include that.”
Update, 11/7: A quote from a commenter has been updated to include the word “almost.”
In early May, just a few days after a pair of employee complaints were filed against Humboldt County Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, a committee of senior administrators urged her to step down from her role as board chair while a third-party investigation was conducted.
The suggestion to step down, which was made by Human Resources Director Zach O’Hanen, County Administrative Office Elishia Hayes and Interim County Counsel Scott Miles, was sent to Bushnell via email on May 9. A copy of that email was included in a batch of documents released to the Outpost this morning in response to a California Public Records Act request.
The email explains that Bushnell had been accused of violating the board’s Code of Conduct and Ethics and the county’s Abusive Conduct Policy. Per the rules in the former policy, a committee comprising O’Hanen, Hayes and Miles reviewed the allegations and determined that a formal, third-party investigation was warranted. (That investigation concluded that Bushnell had indeed violated the board’s Code of Conduct on May 5 when she yelled and cursed at county employees.)
The committee urged Bushnell to do two things while the investigation was under way:
step down as chair, and
limit communication with her accusers to email for the duration of the investigation.
The email explained that this request was being made due to “the nature of the alleged conduct, need to ensure employee wellbeing, and potential liability to the County of Humboldt caused by this incident.”
I called Bushnell this morning to ask why she didn’t step down as requested. She said that after receiving the email, she reached out to O’Hanen to ask about protocol in such situations.
“I asked Zach if I had to [step down]; he said ‘no,’” Bushnell said. “I said, OK, I’m going to choose not to, because this is not the norm for me. I don’t react this way.”
Bushnell then predicted that I would bring up the 2022 incident that likewise resulted in a sustained finding of misconduct, but she reiterated that she felt confident this time around that she could remain in her position as chair without any problems.
Regarding her behavior on May 5, Bushnell said, “There were reasons. And I’m human. And I recognized right away I was emotional and got upset. And I knew I would not have that [kind of] interaction with [those employees] again.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson brought up the committee’s recommendations, saying, “one of them was partially done and the other was completely ignored.” He suggested that Bushnell should have followed the group’s advice. “We are responsible for maintaining a safe working environment, free of threats, free of violent behavior,” he said. “The employees are scared.”
I asked Bushnell about the “partially done” comment. Did she refrain from direct communication with the employees who’d complained? She said she didn’t know what Wilson was talking about. She also took issue with comments Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone made during Tuesday’s meeting about having witnessed from Bushnell “similar behaviors towards staff, the public and community partners.”
“I have no idea what he was talking about,” Bushnell said. “Not one time did my board members come talk to me.”
Bushnell, as previously reported, has retained a private attorney to challenge both the investigation process and the resulting findings. She said two of her colleagues on the board agreed with her that the investigation process spelled out in the Code of Conduct is flawed, which is why they referred the matter to the Civil Grand Jury.
“How do you have three people on a panel where I’m one of their bosses? How difficult for them is that?” Bushnell said. “Then, when the investigation [results] came, there was one part I didn’t agree with. I said, ‘How do I appeal?’ and they said there’s no way. I said, ‘That’s not due process. That’s not fair.’ So I elected to continue being the board chair, knowing this is not how I treat people. I knew that I could be fine and they, ultimately, the employees and I were fine. We’ve been fine for five months.”
Attorney emails
The documents released to the Outpost this morning also include emails between Allison Jackson (the private attorney Bushnell hired) and Savana Jefferson of the firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, who is representing the county in this dispute.
On Oct. 2, Jackson had a letter hand-delivered to the county. It argued, as Bushnell has, that the investigation process “does not contain adequate due process protections.” Her letter argued that Bushnell should be provided with a full copy of the investigation report, rather than a mere summary. In a subsequent letter, Jackson argued that Bushnell has a constitutional right to call and cross-examine witnesses, present evidence and make arguments.
Jefferson replied to Jackson on October 16, saying in an email:
The County is under no obligation to
release the investigation report as it is confidential and protected under the attorney-client
privilege. Moreover, Supervisor Bushnell was afforded full due process during the investigation.
She was notified of the allegations, provided the opportunity to respond, and met with the
investigator to present her account and any supporting information. The investigation was
conducted by an independent, neutral investigator retained by the County to ensure a fair and
impartial process. The County did not direct, control, or influence the investigator’s findings or
conclusions in any way.
While your client may disagree with the outcome of the investigation, the County stands
by the integrity of the investigation and its results. The Code of Conduct and Ethics does not
provide a mechanism for the respondent or subject of a workplace investigation to appeal or
otherwise challenge the findings of a neutral investigation. The Code of Conduct and Ethics
requires only that the Board member be notified of the allegations and provided an opportunity
to respond.
Roberto (left) and Abrams (right) pose separately with some USPS bigwigs. Photos: USPS.
Press release from the U.S. Postal Service:
The Eureka Post
Office, located at 337 W Clark St, Eureka, CA 95501 inducted
Letter Carriers Dustin Roberto and Steven Abrams today into the
prestigious National
Safety Council Million Mile Award.
The
Million Mile Award is a lifetime enrollment, awarded to letter
carriers, rural carriers and truck drivers, who have a safe attitude
that entails driving for one million miles or 30 years without a
preventable incident. They receive a plaque which bears the Million
Mile Club emblem, the NSC logo and an engraved personalized
nameplate.
Dustin
Roberto, a Veteran and Letter Carrier for 35 years received
recognition and entry into the program just ahead of his retirement
on November 14.
Steven
Abrams began his postal career 32 years ago in Los Gatos before
joining the Eureka station where he has served for nearly
the entirety of his career for 31 years.
The
secret to staying accident-free starts with having the right
mindset, “Eliminate the distractions in the driver cabin
while driving. To me, safety means working in a safe manner that
protects not only myself but my coworkers so we can return to our
families every day,” said Abrams.
Roberto
emphasized it is key to “always
take the time to be safe.”
Driving
a million miles safely is commendable.
To
add perspective, the moon is 238,900 miles from planet earth. Driving
one million miles is the equivalent of doing that journey more than
four times, all without a moving violation or accident, while
maneuvering hazardous road conditions, gridlock, rural terrain, and
avoiding careless drivers along the way.
“Our
postal drivers take safety very seriously,” said Eureka Postmaster
Heather McTigue, “this truly remarkable achievement demonstrates
how postal employees continue to deliver on the promise of delivering
their best every day with care,
courtesy and concern for
the safety of others.”
Safe
Driving Habits Start with Good Training
Driving
for Postal Service is a privilege. All drivers must demonstrate
safe-driving practices throughout their careers. Behind-the-wheel job
candidates undergo rigorous screening, training, and certification
process to earn credentials to operate a right-hand drive postal
vehicle.
The Fortuna to Eureka Procession is a long-distance community walk that raises awareness about the human rights of migrants in Humboldt County. By symbolically connecting Fortuna, home to the largest Latine community in the region, with Eureka, where the courthouse and essential services are located, we highlight the disparities and the urgent need for protection and dignity for migrant families.
This walk is a public statement in action that migrants deserve spaces free of violence. Every year we demand the closure of detention centers, the reunification of separated families, and the full implementation of sanctuary protections. Centro del Pueblo leads to affirm our collective presence in public space and to say: We are here to stay!
How You Can Help
1. Food & Welcome Space
Provide food along the walking route
Help prepare the welcome space at our office on Broadway Avenue
2. Materials Needed
Banners and signs
Whistles
Volunteer to transport butterfly wings to Pearson’s
Rain ponchos
Volunteer to transport food and water during the walk
3. Transportation & Safety
Rides from Arcata, McKinleyville, or Eureka to Fortuna
Volunteers to drive walkers’ cars from Fortuna to Eureka (to reduce fatigue after 8+ hours of walking)
Car escorts for safety
Police liaison for de-escalation
Community members willing to join the walk or help monitor safety via our chat
If you want to support, please text 707-683-5293 or email info@cdpueblo.com.
The five mayors of Eureka Past. From left: Peter LaVallee, Susan Seaman, Nancy Flemming, Virginia Bass, Frank Jager.
Press release from Eureka for the Holidays:
It’s the start of another busy holiday season, and with it a variety of activities and events to keep straight. Luckily, the former mayors of Eureka have joined forces to offer the community and visitors an easier way to enjoy and manage the holiday festivities this year as they kick off the season with Eureka for the Holidays.
In addition to holiday favorites, this year’s activities will be centrally located on an easily-accessible website, with some help from three new and festive mascots along the way.
“We wanted to take the opportunity this year to uplift all of the great things that already happen around the holiday season all across Eureka,” said Susan Seaman, former mayor and program director of the North Edge Business Financing and Community Development. “By coordinating and marketing all of our activities, we hope to boost activity participation and sales for our planners and merchants while also providing a one-stop holiday planning guide to our busy residents.”
Community members and business owners are encouraged to visit the online calendar to submit their own holiday season events to the community. The calendar will feature Eureka’s diverse holiday celebrations, including pop-up markets, holiday activities, community gatherings, toy drives, business events and sales, fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, and faith-based services. It will serve as a comprehensive guide for community members to explore the wide array of offerings from Eureka and its local businesses throughout the holiday season. Additionally, the website offers information on the annual Home for the Holidays Decorating contest and a downloadable media kit, featuring festive coloring sheets for the youngest attendees.
“Our strength as a community comes from the work we do together, from our youngest citizens — like our Scouts — to those of us who have held higher leadership positions,” said Frank Jager, past mayor. “Eureka for the Holidays is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that effort.”
Eureka for the Holidays is a partnership between the former mayors of Eureka, Humboldt Made, City of Eureka, Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, Eureka Main Street, and Henderson Center Merchants to help promote and support the small businesses in the Eureka area during the holiday season. It is an opportunity to celebrate the holidays and unite the community. Sponsors for this event include Coast Central Credit Union, Illuminated Marketing, and Maples Service.
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NOW LET’S GET TO KNOW THESE EUREKA HOLIDAY MASCOTS:
Kris Kringlefoot
Kris Kringlefoot is Humboldt’s friendliest Sasquatch. He can often be seen strolling through Old Town with a cup of hot cocoa (extra whip AND sprinkles) from Old Town Coffee & Chocolates. He loves stopping to admire the gazebo holiday lights and makes sure the bulk of his Christmas shopping is done downtown. For Kris, the holiday season is all about kindness, laughter, and supporting his community.
Yule
Carrying a wrapped gift from Toy Box and nibbling on holiday cookies from Cherry Blossom Bakery, Yule is our quirky, cheerful, full-of-holiday-spirit banana slug. Yule’s calendar is pretty packed this time of year with holiday events and prepping for the Home for the Holidays Decorating Contest (they win every year!) They often employ the help of their friends, Kris and Red, to string up the higher lights and thanks them with sweet treats from Fresh Freeze.
Red
Red is a redwood who loves getting dressed up for the holidays. She eagerly waits for Pierson’s and The Carl Johnson Company to set up their holiday displays and leaves their stores having purchased some new favorite jewelry (ornaments) to show off at the Sequoia Park Zoo. For Red, the holiday season doesn’t officially start until she’s crossed these two off her list.
The non-cartoonified, IRL version of The Five Mayors assembled for the first time last year, laser-focused on bringing Christmas joy to the streets of Eureka. File photo: Izzy Vanderheiden.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press, alongside First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, after Proposition 50 was passed by California voters, at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento on Nov. 4, 2025. Photo by Jungho Kim for CalMatters
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom has a message for Democrats around the country: Follow my lead.
Declaring victory for Proposition 50, his Democratic redistricting ballot measure, he named five other states led by Democrats and urged their governors to tilt their own congressional maps in favor of the party and help it secure the U.S. House in next year’s midterms.
“We need to see other states, their remarkable leaders that have been doing remarkable things, meet this moment head-on as well,” he said. “We can de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it, the minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in as speaker of the House of Representatives. It is all on the line.”
It had the decisive air of a politician claiming the national mantle. And though he nodded to House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’s role, the subtext was clear: Newsom was the one who just delivered the party the likelihood of five new seats in Congress.
With Prop. 50’s overwhelming passage, the governor has vaulted — for the moment — into the role of Democratic favorite in the 2028 presidential campaign. Newsom’s national ambitions have never been veiled, but this year he for the first time acknowledged he’s considering it. Having amassed more than tens of thousands of new donors nationwide to support his ballot measure, he also now has a roster of supporters to call on in a potential campaign.
Cable news shows lit up with mentions of the governor’s success at pulling off the redistricting gambit. MSNBC commentator and former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill declared Newsom has “moved to the front of the pack” among potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders such as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“He’s in the top tier,” said Democratic pollster and strategist Celinda Lake. “It was a really outside-the-box idea, implemented well, implemented fast, united the party. And it also showed he was tough.”
Yet one victory in an off-year election driven by the nationwide mood of angry Democrats decidedly set against Trump does not necessarily predict a future successful campaign. Prop. 50 was purely anti-Trump, and Democratic strategist Matt Rodriguez said Democrats still need an independent vision to win back Congress or the White House.
But looking at possible 2028 contenders, “there’s no question (Newsom is) light years ahead of everyone else.”
“He’s the only one driving his own news,” he said. “Everyone else is like a moth to flame.”
‘Iterating’ a vision and a message
Newsom’s prospects for national prominence weren’t always so bright. For years, he’s been experimenting with how to get attention by confronting Republicans on the national stage, challenging them to debates on Fox News and bankrolling red-state billboards advertising California’s reproductive rights. In 2023 he similarly called on other states’ lawmakers to follow his lead for a constitutional amendment on gun control. No other state joined the effort.
In the first few months of 2025, as Democrats struggled with how to recover from the 2024 loss to Trump, Newsom was podcasting with right-wing activists and mulling their successes. It was the latest in a series of his efforts to try on new political approaches, which the governor frequently describes to reporters as “iterating.”
When Texas Democrats approached Newsom for support over the summer as they tried to fight off a Trump-backed GOP gerrymandering effort there, a counter-proposal from California was considered an extraordinary political risk for the governor.
It wasn’t clear all Democrats in California’s congressional delegation or the state Legislature were on board, let alone a majority of the state’s voters. But by the end of a 10-week campaign, so many people had donated to support the measure that Newsom told them to stop sending money, while two opposition campaigns failed to capture attention with a cohesive message.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the entirety of the left of politics in California come together in this way in a campaign,” said Neel Sannappa, an organizer with the left-wing California Working Families Party and chair of the California Democrats’ Progressive Caucus.
A knack for trolling
Newsom succeeded, strategists said, by taking a risk in an almost impromptu way that was well-timed with voters’ mounting alarms about Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to American cities, aggressive immigration raids and redistricting efforts in other states.
It didn’t hurt his own standing that he was also engaging in a social media trolling campaign against Trump, adding to perceptions that he was willing to embrace the brash, unconventional politics that led to the president’s own rise. The posts — often AI-generated, sometimes crude, and always extremely online — have delighted Democrats in a way even skeptical progressives like Sannappa commended.
“He was thrust into the spotlight as a result of this particular situation (with Texas) and I think he made the most of it,” said Brian Brokaw, a strategist who advises Newsom. “One of his greatest strengths is his ability to evolve with changing times and changing dynamics … It’s reflected in the positive results of last night.”
Months ago, Newsom already acknowledged that one day the tweets will get old, and he would need a new strategy.
“We’re iterating,” he said at an August event hosted by Politico. “That’s been the cause of my life.”
