John D. DeMartini
October 11, 1933 – March 6, 2026

John was the first son born to John A. DeMartini and Violet (Coughlin) DeMartini on October 11, 1933, in San Francisco.

The family moved to Sonoma when his father purchased a dairy. John graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 1951. After graduation, he moved to Humboldt County to attend Humboldt State College (CalPoly Humboldt). He graduated in 1955 with a degree in Life Science and General Science. Upon graduating, he taught high school for a couple years before returning to Humboldt State College to complete his master’s degree. He went on to earn his PhD from Oregon State University.

He returned to Humboldt State College and was a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences from 1963 to 1999. During his tenure, he was awarded Outstanding Professor in 1972.

Some summers, John worked through the National Science Foundation and led classes to help elementary and high school teachers develop curriculum.

From 1979 to 1984 he was director of the Telonicher Marine Lab in Trinidad.

During his career he also worked with California Fish and Game documenting the life cycle of the red abalone and led a kelp survey of Trinidad bay.

John was a natural born educator. He was more than a teacher to some of his students. He became their friend and some became family friends. It was not unusual to have an extra person at the DeMartini dinner table to enjoy a home cooked meal.

After retirement he founded the Redwood Science Project with Dr. Casey Lu and Jeffery White. John would travel to Hoopa and Covelo to give presentations and lead field trips for elementary school students.

In retirement John took an interest in California gall wasps. He and Julia would go out looking for galls on Native Oak and Chinquapin Oak. Professor Graham Stone and Dr. James Nicholls of Edinburgh, Scotland travelled to McKinleyville to collaborate and exchange information with John regarding gall wasps. In 2018 a specific species of gall wasp, Dryocosmus demartinii, was named in John’s honor to recognize his contribution to the study of gall wasps.

During John’s Cal Poly days, he could regularly be seen walking from the university to Don’s Donut Bar in Arcata in his “professor uniform” of a sports coat, white button-down shirt and tie, to enjoy a cup of coffee and a donut while visiting with the locals and Don’s mother, Bea.

John was a storyteller and if you were at the dinner table with him you would get at least a couple of his favorites. He liked to reminisce about his younger days in San Francisco riding the bus across town and sometimes going to the movies with his mother. He would recount his days on the dairy milking cows before and after school and exploring creeks in Sonoma any time he could get free time. John would smile, sharing memories of meeting and dating his wife, Julia, and marveling at the many years spent together. He had his favorite stories (his, not ours) about each of his children and many of his grandchildren.

While at college, John met Bill (Buddy) Papke. Bill took John home to introduce him to Bill’s younger sister, Norma. It was Bill’s older sister, Julia, who won John’s heart.

John and Julia were married August 28, 1955. The following June their first daughter, Michele, was born, followed by their first son, Paul, three days short of a year later. A second daughter, Jean, was born in Sonoma during the time John was teaching high school. After moving back to Eureka, their third daughter Angela was born, followed by their second son, Jack. Daughter number four, Catherine, was born in Corvallis, OR, while completing his PhD. On their ninth wedding anniversary they welcomed their third son and last child, Eric.

The family moved to McKinleyville in 1966. John was a charter member of Christ the King Catholic Church.

John is survived by his wife of seventy years, Julia.

His children, Michele DeMartini, Paul (Ann) DeMartini, Jean (Gary) McIntire, Angela DeMartini (Al Steer), Jack (Lisa) DeMartini, Catherine (Mike) Galloway, and Eric DeMartini.

Grandchildren: Danielle DeMartini (Nathan Wells), Erika (Brett) DeCarlo, Matthew DeMartini, Alfonso Arechiga, Shane McIntire, Lindsey (Nate) Robertson, Kenny (Ria) Winkler, Brendan (Samantha Sachs) Grace, Brittan (Megan) Grace, John (Melissa) Rose-DeMartini, Brian DeMartini, Amanda (Dean) Wilson, and Jesse (Janine) Galloway.

Seventeen great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

His brother Charles DeMartini, sister Violet Wheeler, sisters-in-law Bev DeMartini, Linda DeMartini, and Norma (Papke) Dye.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John A. and Violet DeMartini, brother David DeMartini, niece Julie DeMartini, father and mother-in-law Erwin and Anna Papke, sister-in-law Barbara (Papke) Spellenberg, brothers-in-law Bill “Buddy” Papke, Gerald “Jerry” Spellenberg, Dale Wheeler, and Bill Dye.

Thank you to Frye’s Care Home for their loving care of John during his last four months of life.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of John DeMartini’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Joan was born in Eureka on April 17, 1963, to Edward and Rosemary (Phillips) Schratwieser.

Joan spent her life growing up in Humboldt County with her four brothers, Edward, Donald, David, and Robert. She attended Rio Dell Elementary School and graduated from Fortuna High School in 1981.

Joan earned a living in the health care system for 15 years. She was a volunteer at Visiting Angel, an in-home care provider, was a non-certified CNA and a Certified Nurse’s Assistant.

On June 30, 1984, Joan married the love of her life, Randle Thomsen, in Fortuna. About five years later they were blessed and welcomed their baby boy, Stefan Randle Thomsen. Her goal was to be the very best wife and mother she could be. She loved having family time, all the while learning to stand up for herself and others.

A special note from Joan’s son Stefan:

“I was having a medical mystery, and my mother stood by my side through it all. She even asked the San Francisco doctor to write a medical note for her employer telling them she would be staying home with me until I was fully recovered. I love you, Mom.”

Joan was an animal lover, having many cats and dogs over the years. Joan was dedicated to her family, both two- and four-legged, and to her faith. She loved outdoor activities such as fishing — ask her husband how she fished him out of the ocean, and while you’re asking, have him tell you about the fishing pole story too. She enjoyed crocheting, crafts, meetings with the church ladies, and helping Randle around the house. She always held a dream of becoming a nurse.

Joan received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer in 2019. She fought with everything she had and more. Unfortunately, the cancer moved seven different times in her body until it was in her liver and bones.

Joan climbed the stairway to heaven on April 8, 2026, to join those who preceded her: her parents Edward and Rosemary; brother Robert; many aunts, uncles, and cousins; and her beloved cats and dogs — Footloose, Fancy Free, Cally, Rodney, Dutchess, Oreo, Cuddles, Amigo, Tasha, Smokey, Beverly, and Sampson.

Joan leaves behind many family and friends who love and will miss her deeply: her husband Randle; her son Stefan; her brothers Edward, Donald, and David; aunts, uncles, cousins; many nieces and nephews, among them Jennifer, Kelsi, Kevin, Nicky, and P.J.; and her mother- and father-in-law, Charleen and Donald Hicks.

Services for Joan will be held June 3, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Faith Center Foursquare Church, 1032 Bay Street, Eureka. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity.

Joan’s courage and strength through years of battling this horrible disease were an inspiration. Her heart and faith never wavered. Her love for her husband and son was beyond measure. She was a bright light who touched so many lives. Rest in peace, our sweet beautiful Joan.

UPDATE, FRIDAY MORNING: Canvas is mostly back up, it seems. Still uncertain what’s going to happen with all that student data the hackers claim to have.

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Word came down from Cal Poly Humboldt today that professors and students have been locked out of Canvas, the cloud-based software that the whole university uses to manage assignments and grades and the like.

One professor who contacted showed us a message that she received when she tried to log in. It read like this:

S H I N Y H U N T E R S
rooting your systems since ’19 

ShinyHunters has breached Instructure (again). Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some “security patches”.

A  W A R N I N G

If any of the schools in the affected list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately at TOX to negotiate a settlement. You have till the end of the day by 12 May 2026 before everything is leaked.

Instructure still has until EOD 12 May 2026 to contact us.

Soon after, this was replaced with a generic “system down for scheduled maintenance” message apparently posted by Instructure, the private company that provides the Canvas service.

Well. It turns out that Humboldt was just a small corner of this cyberattack, which has struck thousands of universities across the nation that use Canvas to manage their classes. Among them: College of the Redwoods, which had a “Canvas is down” banner across the top of its homepage as of this writing.

The California State University system has a page up monitoring developments. There’s really not a lot of information yet. Suffice to say, though: If this continues for very long, it’s going to be a very strange end to the semester.

Earlier today — before the outage — Cal Poly Humboldt sent out this message to professors:

Dear Faculty and Staff:

This is to inform you of a recent cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the vendor that provides Canvas, Cal Poly Humboldt’s learning management system. 

We have been informed that the threat actor accessed data from many educational institutions worldwide stored at Instructure’s site that likely included information from the CSU. Instructure is still confirming what data may have been exposed, but based on their preliminary assessment, it may include personal information such as names, email addresses, campus ID numbers, and user messages.  At this time, neither Instructure nor we can confirm whether any individual’s data Cal Poly Humboldt was included. Canvas does not store passwords, Social Security numbers, financial information, or dates of birth. 

Canvas remains fully operational, and there is no evidence of an ongoing threat. Instructure has contained the incident, remediated the vulnerability, and continues to investigate in coordination with external forensic experts and law enforcement. 

Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage all community members to remain vigilant for phishing or suspicious communications and to report any such activity to security@humboldt.edu.

Password resets are not required at this time; we will notify you if that guidance changes. 

We are continuing to work with Instructure to determine the full scope of impact and will provide updates, including resources for affected individuals, as more information becomes available at (this link). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ITS  Service desk at (707) 826-4357 or help@humboldt.edu.

Several people were seriously injured today when an earthquake maimed multiple people inside of a warehouse, caused a gas leak that erupted in flames, and crashed a car into a utility pole, which also incapacitated a lineman working up on the pole. Fortunately, first responders from the Arcata Fire District and workers with PG&E were there before the calamities even occurred, allowing them to save multiple lives and avert a worse disaster. 

“Just take it easy now,” one nurse, a man named “Chad” with a gigantic, sleek handlebar mustache, told an unresponsive man, bleeding from the head, that firefighters wheeled on a rolling chair out of a building. “We’re going to get you to an ambulance.”

Even more fortunately — especially for that guy — the whole thing was fake.

Dozens of PG&E and Arcata Fire employees descended on the former Sun Valley tulip farm in the Arcata Bottoms this morning to practice responding to a natural disaster. PG&E employees played the hapless victims. Chad’s mustache was a floppy stick-on.

It’s important for PG&E and fire departments to practice working with one another before a real catastrophe, PG&E’s Emergency Management Specialist Mike Levasseur told the Outpost. He coordinates these training exercises up and down the state, making sure everyone knows how to work with one another so everything goes smoothly when they are inevitably forced to.

“The adage is,” he said, “the day of an incident is not a good first time to be shaking hands.”

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

The Eureka Police Department (EPD) will conduct a DUI and Driver’s License Checkpoint on Friday, May 8, 2026, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and midnight at a location within the Eureka city limits. The checkpoint location will not be announced in advance. Checkpoint operations are intended to improve roadway safety by identifying impaired drivers and encouraging motorists to make safe and responsible decisions before getting behind the wheel. Officers will be screening for signs of impairment caused by alcohol, cannabis, controlled substances, and medications that may hinder a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle safely.

Motorists passing through the checkpoint can expect:

• Brief contact with officers
• Vehicles stopped in a systematic, neutral pattern
• DUI evaluations when signs of impairment are observed
• Minimal delays for compliant drivers

EPD encourages community members to plan ahead before consuming alcohol or other impairing substances:

• Use a designated sober driver
• Arrange for a rideshare, taxi, or public transportation
• Never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Report suspected impaired drivers by calling 9-1-1

Drivers should also be aware that many prescription and over-the-counter medications may affect reaction time, judgment, and coordination. Always follow medication warning labels and consult a medical professional if unsure whether it is safe to drive. Impaired driving places everyone on the roadway at risk. Consequences for a DUI arrest may include jail time, driver’s license suspension, costly fines, and other legal penalties. Funding for this checkpoint is provided by the California Highway Patrol through the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program.

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The Eureka City Council is pushing back on the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore drilling to the West Coast.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council directed staff to draft a resolution opposing the federal scheme, which would allow new leases for offshore oil and gas drilling along the California coast for the first time since 1984. 

The council had originally asked staff to come up with an ordinance that would prevent the federal government and oil developers from using onshore support facilities in Eureka, but after reviewing a sample ordinance developed by the Mills Legal Clinic at Stanford Law School, the city’s legal team advised the council to consider an alternative approach.

Slattery | Screenshot

“We tried to use [that] as a template for our ordinance … [but the city’s attorneys] determined that that ordinance wouldn’t work for the City of Eureka due to the fact that we have coastal-dependent industrial property that’s in our coastal zone,” City Manager Miles Slattery explained. “By ordinance, it wouldn’t supersede our Local Coastal Program, so … trying to use that as a way of preventing onshore support facilities for offshore drilling would be a much more onerous project.”

Adopting an ordinance would require the city to amend its coastal-dependent industrial zoning district. “Right now, those types of facilities are principally permitted,” Slattery added. “We’ve talked to the Coastal Commission, and we can’t pass an ordinance that adjusts our Local Coastal Program.”

For about a year now, staff have been working on an update to the city’s Local Coastal Program (LCP), which was first approved in 1984 and last updated in 1999. Slattery said staff would be willing to incorporate changes into the LCP to prohibit certain uses in the coastal-dependent industrial zoning district that would allow support facilities to be used by oil developers. 

However, if staff were to go that route, the zoning amendment would have to be carefully written to avoid impacting other industrial uses, Slattery said.

“The draft ordinance kind of used aesthetics as a reason as to why [offshore drilling] wouldn’t be amenable to their community because [they] have a tourist-type economy,” he continued. “There was concern by staff that … wind energy would have that same kind of industrial effect. So there would be a lot more thought needed to be put into how you adjust those allowances in that zoning district to make sure that it’s compatible with our community.”

Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach echoed staff’s concern about using aesthetics as a basis for opposition to offshore drilling. “There’s discussion around offshore wind, which would place very large, 900-foot-tall cranes [on the Samoa Peninsula] … and clearly that would be visible, which I think demonstrates a problem with a focus on any kind of visibility issue,” DeLoach said.

Contreras-DeLoach | Screenshot

Slattery said staff could consider other strategies that would restrict the use of certain support facilities in the city that “would make it more difficult for [fossil fuel companies to develop] offshore oil drilling if they didn’t have those supports [and] access [to] our port.”

Contreras-DeLoach asked if the onshore facilities would be a potential source of pollution, admitting that she didn’t know very much about the support infrastructure needed for offshore drilling.

“It would support an industry that would potentially create widespread pollution or oil spills,” said Councilmember Leslie Castellano. “Also, just the entrance and exit of those [barges] through our harbor would increase the likelihood of that.”

Castellano asked if there would be any advantage to putting a measure on the ballot as a means of expediting an an anti-drilling ordinance. Slattery didn’t think so, adding that the LCP would still need to be approved by the California Coastal Commission.

“I would liken that to the Balloon Track,” he added, referring to Measure N and the failed “Marina Center” project that sought to redevelop the old railyard between Broadway and Waterfront Drive. One month ago, nearly 16 years after it was approved by voters, the Coastal Commission officially denied the “incomplete and inactive” LCP amendment. “While that was approved by the voters, it doesn’t happen overnight. It still requires a certification of the Coastal Commission.”

With that in mind, Slattery recommended that the council pursue an anti-drilling resolution, which is a mostly symbolic gesture that reflects the council’s opinion on an issue. 

Representatives of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and the Humboldt Waterkeeper spoke in favor of a resolution during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“The fact that there’s this big federal push now to restart offshore oil drilling off the coast of California — starting south of us, but including Northern California — is truly terrifying,” said EPIC attorney Matt Simmons. He also urged the council to consider a resolution against deep sea mining, another extractive industry the Trump administration is pushing forward.

Daniel Smith, Eureka resident and Fifth Ward city council candidate, used his three minutes to express his views on offshore wind, claiming that “a helluva lot more gas goes into these electrical systems than everyone wants to get into.”

Smith | Screenshot

Mayor Kim Bergel interjected to remind Smith that the agenda item was about offshore drilling, not wind. “Sure, but ultimately it comes down to the same thing,” he persisted. “I know that everyone wants to get in there and put their two cents in [on] what they think they know, but there’s a lot more to it, and I encourage you guys to research it a little bit more.”

Following public comment, Castellano expressed support for a resolution opposing offshore drilling and directed staff to add in language opposing deep sea mining. 

“If there are other ways we can be proactive, let’s continue to think about them,” she said. “[I] definitely want to make sure that we are, you know, at the head of this potential threat.”

Councilmember Kati Moulton felt it was important for the council to take a stand, given the widespread local opposition to the proposal.

“I think that any effort we can make to oppose this as a city or utilize the city’s power to enact that will of the people would be appropriate,” she said. “I’m from the Gulf Coast side of Houston, Texas, where there are offshore drilling rigs dotting the horizon everywhere you can look. … There’s no such thing as a clean oil rig that isn’t dumping pollution into the surrounding waters. I think we should protect our coast, protect our bay, protect our fisheries, protect our tourism, and protect our environment in general.”

The council directed staff to bring back a resolution and move forward with the LCP updates but did not vote on the item.

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What else happened at Tuesday’s meeting?

• A group of Cal Poly Humboldt students presented a report, “Unlocking Affordable Housing on Faith-based Land in Eureka.” The report centered around SB 4: The Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, signed into law in 2023, which streamlines the process for religious organizations and nonprofit colleges to develop affordable housing. The group of students interviewed religious leaders throughout Eureka, many of whom were interested in the prospect, but didn’t think it would be feasible to actually build housing on their sites.
• At the end of the meeting, Slattery informed the council that the council’s first budget study session would take place on Tuesday, May 26. Given the city’s budget crisis, staff has been hard at work reducing spending where possible. “We’re at about 2.23% and we plan on putting that across the board to all of our departments,” he said. “We may need to look into reductions of travel, those type of things.”
• The council also approved the Kinetic Universe’s request for a fee waiver for rental fees at Halvorsen Park, something the city does every year. During public comment, one resident sounded the alarm over dog feces at the park, urging the city to take action.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On May 6, 2026, at approximately 1:47 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 12700 block of State Highway 96 in Hoopa to investigate a reported domestic violence incident.

While deputies were en route, dispatch advised that Hoopa Tribal Police Officers were on scene and standing by with a female victim.

Upon arrival, deputies contacted the victim, who reported her husband, 28-year-old Gregory Moon, Jr. physically assaulted her and that she fled the residence on foot. Based upon the initial investigation, statements, and physical evidence collected by deputies, it was determined that a serious violent physical assault occurred.

The victim was evaluated and treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene.  Deputies responded to Moon’s residence located in the 9500 block of State Highway 96, and he was taken into custody without incident.  He was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and booked on the following charges:

• PC 245(a)(4) Assault with Force Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury
• PC 273.5(a) Inflict Corporal Injury on Spouse
• PC 422(a) Threaten Crime with Intent to Terrorize

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone experiencing domestic violence to seek help. Victims are not alone, and support is available through local law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and confidential hotlines. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.

For ongoing support, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit www.thehotline.org for confidential assistance.

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.