Here’s the latest post in our “Be On the Lookout” series, where we highlight stolen items and ask you to help by reporting any sighting to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

This bright red moped (see photo below) was taken from a backyard in Eureka. This 1997 kinetic TFR has a white stripe. One tire was flat and the key was not in it at the time it was taken.

Keep your eye out for this distinctive item. If you see it, contact the Eureka Police at (707) 441-4060.

Previous BOLO:

• [Replaced!] Be On the Lookout:10-Year-Old’s Bike Stolen
• [FOUND!] Be On the Lookout: Girl’s Bike Taken From Blue Lake Elementary School
• Be On the Look Out: Stolen 1989 Mazda Pickup
• Be on The Lookout: Two 1993 Hondas Stolen in McKinleyville Today
• [Found!] Be On the Lookout: Suspected Supercreep Stole A Bunch of Gear From the Humboldt Bay Sea Scouts
• Be on the Lookout: 27-Speed Bicycle Taken
• [Recovered/ Stolen Again/ Recovered Again!!!] Be On The Lookout: 1995 Two-Door Red Honda Stolen
• [REPLACED!—Great Story!] Be On the Lookout: iPad Stolen From Boy With Down Syndrome
• Be On the Lookout: Two Kids Had Bikes Stolen From Eureka High School
• Be On the Lookout: Butterflied Bike Bagged by Burglar
• [Car and Surfboard RECOVERED—Officer Went Above and Beyond Says Victim] Be On the Lookout: [Especially You Surfers] 2003 Explorer with Snazzy Surfboard Stolen
• Be On the Lookout: Suspect Smashed Car Window Stole Laptop—Photo of Theft

People send pictures!

Friend of LoCO Stacey emailed the photo above, particularly intrigued by the blue tag attached to the carcass. Jeff Jacobsen, our go-to guy for this sort of thing, ID’d the remains as belonging to “…some young pinniped, most likely a California sea lion. The blue plastic tie wrap on it likely is to tag it as already counted, like they do with birds for the COASST surveys.”

UPDATE: HSU prof Dawn Goley confirmed, “Yep – they are part of the protocol for the HSU Marine Mammal Stranding Program. We mark the carcasses so we don’t recount during subsequent surveys.”

Botanist extraordinaire Jen Kalt emailed, “Look what I found in Hollow Tree Creek, behind timber company gates at least five miles from the windy part of Highway 1, laying on the mossy streambank next to the rare plants we were mapping. My field partner informed me that this is Princess Sophie Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, a Disney character she is hoping her three-year-old isn’t going to identify with.”

(Do we need to point out the senseless environmental harm caused by releasing balloons into the wild blue yonder?)

Gary Lester wondered if he’d found sea turtle tracks at Crannell Beach…

… but they’re just your average ol’harbor seal tracks according to marine mammal experts. But, wait! Just after he wrote the update, Gary said, he heard about a injured green sea turtle was found in Trinidad! Sadly, attempts to save the turtle failed as it died en route to the Sausalito Marine Life Care facility.

UPDATE: HSU Marine Lab Director Brian Tissot confirmed the sea turtle story and sent a link to the Facebook photos below.

From left, Lynda Stockton from the North Coast Marine Mammal Center and Dan Hobby, Olivia Barry and Heather Clyma from The HSU Marine Lab.

People often think they’ve stumbled upon “a baby great white” when finding a dead guy like the one above. White sharks are typically at least five feet long at birth, however, and that guy is most likely a mako pup, not typically seen so close to shore here, due to the cold water, but with ocean temps bumping up to 60 degrees, that’s our guess. In less-dead shark news, check out the photo, below, Jenna Kilby snapped while kayaking out off Trinidad.

“Hey, there!” Salmon? Mako? Porbeagle? What do you think, readers?

Events

Saturday, Aug. 2: Explore Humboldt Bay: Hike the Hikshari Trail.Free, docent-led natural history tour of the Hikshari Trail in Eureka in Spanish and English, 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Saturday, Aug. 2: Support Friends of the Dunes by visiting the Sewell Gallery, 423 F St., during Arts Alive! from 6 to 9 p.m. featuring internationally known wire sculptor Elizabeth Berrien Tuesday, Aug. 5: (Re)Debris workshop at SCRAP Humboldt, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Help build a sea creature out of trash!

Thursday, Aug. 7: Ocean Night! At Arcata Theatre Lounge, 6:30 p.m., showing Angel Azul and What the Sea Gives Me, featuring local artist Matt Beard. Get a sneak preview via KHUM’s Coastal Currents. (Bonus question: Can you guess which one is Matt Beard?)

Jennifer Savage is the Northcoast Environmental Center’s Coastal Programs Director and chairs the Humboldt chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

 

According to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Marty Hobbs, a fire which started just north of Redway is currently being mopped up. Hobbs said his unit will be there for hours as completely extinguishing fires in a redwood forest is a difficult task. This fire, Hobbs said, burned only about a quarter acre starting about a 100 yards west of Redwood Drive in a thickly wooded area. He said that the fire started in or near a homeless encampment which honeycombs the forest there.

Two inmate crews and a team leader (about 40 men altogether) are currently breaking up burning logs and digging through smoldering redwood duff to reach bare dirt. [These are the men in orange.]

Hobbs said that he expects to be there til 11 p.m. He might even have to leave an engine with a crew overnight.

Cal Fire had twelve pieces of equipment at this fire.

 

Cal Fire has been responding to multiple incidents today—including to a multi acre fire between Kneeland and Bridgeville, an accident on Hwy 36 and to the three Mendocino lightning fires west of Laytonville. [See here.] They are responding to two small fires at Stafford now as well.

 

LoCO colleague Mike Dronkers sends visual word of an injury collision near the Indianola Cutoff on Highway 101. LoCO’s CHP Watch notes that two people were transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Be aware, motorists.

(Click to enlarge.)

Danco, the Arcata-based development company working to purchase the defunct Downtowner Motel, has hung a couple of banners on the cyclone fence that surrounds the decrepit eyesore. The company had previously announced its intention to buy the property from construction company owner Kevin McKenny, whose February appointment to the county planning commission caused a bit of an uproar due to his failure to develop the site.

The banners feature conceptual drawings of Danco’s planned project, a 49-unit, low-income senior housing development called The Lodge at Eureka. It looks like the project will occupy roughly the same L-shaped footprint as the Downtowner, and according to the banners it will feature a gym, a community room, an onsite cooking area and a swimming pool and jacuzzi. 

Danco Vice President Chris Dart told the Times-Standard last month that it will take about 18 months to gather the necessary financing, which, according to the banners, will come from such sources as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, state tax credits, the City of Eureka and Citibank, along with the Danco Group’s own low-income housing company. Kevin McKenny remains the registered owner of the property.

So far, there has been no sign of conceptual drawings for the interior of The Lodge at Eureka, but we’re hoping it might resemble a certain dreamy lodge in the Pacific Northwest.

Regardless, the target completion date is Spring 2016.

Previously:

• Should the Downtowner Disqualify Kevin McKenny From the Planning Commission? Neighbors Weigh In.
• Owner of Downtowner, ‘Rotting Corpse’ of a Eureka Motel, to be Named to County Planning Commission

Eureka Police Department press release:

In an effort to better inform the community of recent crime trends and data, the Eureka Police Department will release crime data quarterly.  Analyzing crime data is necessary to identify specific problems and alert the community of trends, allowing them to help prevent crime. It is important for the department to regularly compare data to ensure that our resources are being used effectively.  

Below are three graphs that show crime trends spanning from January 2013 through June 2014. Graph one shows property crime. Overall there is a slight downward trend since January 2013. The second quarter of 2014 shows an 8.5% decrease in property crime compared to the second quarter of 2013. 

Graph two shows violent crime.  Violent crime totals include reports of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.  There is a steady downward trend in violent crime reports since January 2013. There is a 23% decrease in violent crime when comparing the second quarters of 2013 and 2014.     

Graph three: Totals of property and violent crime in a quarterly comparison.

Graph three: Totals of property and violent crime in a quarterly comparison (click to enlarge).

The Eureka Police Department hopes that sharing this information will drive a greater awareness of crime and demonstrate our desire to work with the community.  Citizens who are aware and informed can better protect themselves, and in turn prevent future crime.

Additionally, the Eureka Police Department will be participating in the annual National Night Out event hosted by Target on Tuesday, August 5th, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Target parking lot.

National Night Out is an annual event designed to strengthen our communities by encouraging neighborhoods to engage in stronger relationships with each other and with their local law enforcement partners.  

Many other agencies are scheduled to be there. Check out an EPD patrol car and meet McGruff the Crime Dog. See you there!

Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release: 

On 07-28-2014 and 07-29-2014, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office assisted by the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (C.A.M.P.), and United States Forest Service (U.S.F.S.) agents responded to U.S.F.S. property on Brush Mountain, Gainor Peak and Oak Knob in eastern Humboldt County after sighting marijuana being cultivated on U.S.F.S. land. The deputies were also accompanied by three scientists, two from Integral Ecology Research Center, one of which is also associated with UC Davis, and a Hoopa Tribal Wildlife Ecologist.

During two days, deputies seized 3,760 marijuana plants ranging in size from 18 inches to 4 feet. Deputies and scientists located water diversion, mounds of trash and 24 pounds of rodenticides, of which 9 pounds was peanut butter flavored, and 15 pounds was second generation rodenticide. Malathion and fertilizers were also located at the scenes. No suspects were located in the area of the trespass marijuana grows, however deputies have obtained evidence from the scenes which is being processed, and the investigation is ongoing.

The spring fed water sources that were diverted and used to water the marijuana plants, flow into the South Fork of the Trinity River. The springs were part of a network of subterranean water sources. The scientists reported that impacts from the water diversions and chemicals used on the grows could affect Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, Foothill Yellow Legged Frogs and the western Pond Turtle.

The scientists reported the rodenticides could potentially kill Fisher, Northern Spotted Owl, American Black Bear, Black Tailed Deer and Humboldt Marten.

Below are quotes from Dr. Mourad Gabriel, UC Davis Wildlife Ecologist/Integral Ecology Research Center who was present with the deputies and USFS Agents: 

• “The removal of this massive amount of killing agents within prime spotted owl and fisher habitat is pertinent for the conservation of these species.”
• ” The illegal diversion of this amount of water prohibits the flow of cool water into tributaries that support our salmon populations.”
• “In light of the current drought and high water temperatures, this represents another blow to our already taxed watersheds.”
• “These remediation efforts are crucial in protecting our forest ecosystems.”

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.