UPDATE, 11:27 p.m.: Folks, on a vote of 5-0, say hello to “California Redwood Coast — Humboldt County Airport.” 

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Look for a long and tortuous discussion at the Board of Supervisors later this morning, as our elected officials take up the crucial subject of “rebranding” the Eureka-Arcata Airport. The board will be looking at a whole long list of names suggested by the public, county staff and the Humboldt County Airport Advisory Committee.

The original idea, it appears, was to stick the word “redwood” in there somewhere so as to set the tourists slavering for tickets. But then the board, at an earlier date, said that it wanted the word “Humboldt” included as well. The Airport Advisory Committee has now recommended the addition of the word “California,” since it “was felt to be important for National and International [sic] web searches.” The logic of that escapes your Lost Coast Outpost, but it does seem to cover all types of web searches.

So it looks likes we’re headed for a Frankensteinish, designed-by-committee airport name come this afternoon. The public seems to have leaned toward “Humboldt Redwoods Regional Airport,” while the Airport Advisory recommends “California Redwood Coast — Humboldt County Airport,” among a couple of others. The simple and obvious “Humboldt County Airport” apparently doesn’t meet the specs offered by the local marketing gurus.

Meanwhile, according to this afternoon’s agenda item, members of the public have offered several descriptive alternatives which may merit consideration. Among them:

  • Homeless Hippie Haven Airport
  • Humboldt Redwoods Nation International & Interstellar Airport
  • Humport Redboldt Airwood
  • Masonic Meth & Marijuana Metro Airport
  • Pothole Regional Airport
  • Security Inter National
  • Stoned Shores of Sodom Airport
  • Stupid Humboldt Redwoods Renamed Airport
  • The Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville
  • The Big Flat Area Designed to Accommodate Planes Carrying Passengers Who May, Among Other Things, Want to Visit HSU or See Redwoods
  • The Humboldt Redwoods Good-Luck-Because-United-And/Or-SFO-Will-Royally-Screw-You Regional Airport