Today we say goodbye to our wonderful mother, Rosemary Moore (September 11, 1947-November 9, 2025).

Rosemary was a very strong woman with a heart of gold. She was a mother, wife, partner, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, cousin, aunt. She was the world to many people. She took care of so many.

Rosemary moved to Humboldt County in the 1970s. She spent the majority of that time on Tompkins Hill Road, running a small ranch, managing a home and taking care of family. Holidays were always her thing — tons of homemade food, family and friends. She was a wonderful cook and baker, was always canning foods and taking wonderful care of her family. Nothing was too difficult for her. She also enjoyed gambling at the casinos, a favorite pastime as she got older.

Rosemary is preceded by her longtime life partner John Freson, and leaves behind her children Peggy Sue (Joe) and Christine McKenna; her bonus children Sandra (Norman) Dupret, Johni B Atterberry, Lori Borges and Mark (Verlenea) Freson; her sister Judie (Jim) O’Neil; brother Don Sims; her longtime friend Laurie and Mike Haskins and Alice Pace; many fabulous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and special friends.

We would like to give special thanks to the fabulous folks at Hospice of Humboldt. Their hardworking staff always brought a smile to Rosemary’s face. And special thanks to her favorite doctor, Andrew Johnston at the Fortuna Open Door.

Services will be determined at a later date.

Don’t cry for me by Deborah Garcia Gaitan

Don’t cry for me.
I will be okay.
Heaven is my home now,
and this is where I’ll stay.
Don’t cry for me.
I’m where I belong.
I want you to be happy
and try to stay strong.
Don’t cry for me.
It was just my time,
but I will see you someday
on the other side.
Don’t cry for me.
I am not alone.
The angels are with me
to welcome me home.
Don’t cry for me,
for I have no fear.
All my pain is gone,
and Jesus took my tears.
Don’t cry for me.
This is not the end.
I’ll be waiting here for you
when we meet again

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

On November 13th, 2025, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) served a search warrant for Dana Jensen (64 years old from Blue Lake) and his associated residence located near the 1200 block of Blue Lake Boulevard in Blue Lake. During the months of October and November 2025, HCDTF investigated the residence for selling large quantities of methamphetamine in Humboldt County. 

Upon service of the search warrant, Agents located 14 ounces of methamphetamine, 17 firearms and $141,885.47 in US currency. 

At the conclusion of the investigation, HCDTF Agents booked Jensen into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for the following charges:

• HS 11378– Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• HS 11379(a) – Transportation of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• HS 11370.1 – Possession of a controlled substance while armed

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

James

Incumbent Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph L. James defeated challenger Susan Masten in Wednesday’s runoff election by a vote of 605 (52.84 percent) to 540 (47.16 percent), according to unofficial results released by the tribe. The tribe’s election board is scheduled to meet today to certify the results. 

James and Masten emerged as the top vote-getters among six candidates in the October primary. 

Masten, a lifelong political activist for Tribal and women’s rights, previously served as Yurok Tribal Chairperson from 1997-2003. She congratulated James on his victory last night in a Facebook post and urged her supporters to stay involved. 

James, whose long track record in tribal government includes work on fisheries, water policy, infrastructure and economic development, was first elected Yurok chairman in 2018.

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Remember SUGAR BEAR-MANIA in those heady, post-pandemic days of late 2021? Congress demanded tribute of a Christmas tree from the Six Rivers National Forest, and we served up that majestic 84-foot white fir that would soon be hauled across the nation and into history. 

Well, it’s almost Christmas again, and you can reenact this emotionally cathartic event on a somewhat smaller scale by acquiring your own Christmas centerpiece from Six Rivers National Forest. Get yours before the feds do! Here’s all the details.

Press release from Six Rivers National Forest:

Christmas tree permits will be available to purchase online through Recreation.gov beginning November 1, 2025. Details about designated cutting areas, dates, and types of trees that may be cut may be found here: Six Rivers National Forest Christmas Tree Permit.

“National forests offer exceptional recreation experiences for local communities to enjoy the outdoors,” said USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “These experiences create lasting memories that persist through generations. Visiting a national forest to select a tree that will serve as the centerpiece for the holiday season establishes a meaningful connection between the local forest and a family’s story.”

To purchase a Christmas tree permit, visit Recreation.gov and search for Six Rivers National Forest Christmas Tree Permits. It is important to carefully read the overview and need-to-know information prior to purchasing the permit. Visitors will also need to set up or log in to a Recreation.gov account to complete the transaction.

Fourth graders with an Every Kid Outdoors pass are eligible for a free Christmas tree permit and can apply by entering the pass or voucher number when purchasing a permit (note: a $2.50 reservation fee will be applied).

Cutting a Christmas tree also improves forest health. The permit system helps thin densely populated stands of small-diameter trees. Local forest health experts identify areas that benefit from thinning trees that tend to be the perfect size for Christmas trees. Removing these trees in designated areas helps other trees grow larger and can open areas that provide forage for wildlife.

For more information, visit these online resources:

• Recreation.gov Christmas Tree Permit page with map interface
• Help Center article “How Do I Purchase and Print a Christmas Tree Permit?”
• Cut a Tree for the Holidays from Your National Forest article
• Every Kid Outdoors Fourth Grade Pass program

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Nile is homeless. He has had it rough; he looks chafed by the elements. His eyes have retreated into his sockets. They peer out under his brows like an owl, but without the raptor’s glare. In fact, he was nothing but grateful last week while addressing the Arcata City Council, thanking a program the council decided to give $154,000. 

“It’s changed my trajectory in the community,” he said. “It’s given me purpose…My experience with this group has allowed me to grow through the chaos of what everyone involved goes through. It actually allowed me to become more grounded as a community member.”

Nile was praising OurSpace, an arts program for the homeless put on by the Arcata Playhouse. Started in 2022, a few times a week volunteers set up a place where anyone could show up, create, and get some hot food. Participants can dance, write poetry, or paint. It gives them something to do and a way to meet people, a huge asset for a group often afflicted with mental health issues, said Caroline Griffith, an OurSpace co-director,. Artists have made everything from collages to a giant paper turtle.

“More than anything, people need housing,” Griffith said at the Nov. 5 city council meeting. “People need shelter. People need to be safe. But we also know that people need more than just shelter and food in order to thrive and be full human beings. We are there to fit that niche, and to be a part of this ecosystem of services, to make sure that we are serving the whole person and really thinking about wellness and what it really takes for people who are experiencing substance use disorder and the co-occurring mental health conditions to actually be able to move into something better.”

Around 30 people attended every time OurSpace opened its doors, usually about three times a week in a room in the Arcata Presbyterian Church. But that only lasted until May of 2025; Griffith said in an interview with the Outpost that a homeowner near the church threatened to sue the church unless they stopped renting to OurSpace. The church didn’t have the money to fight the suit, and OurSpace left. (Griffith said the neighbor put their house up on the market for $1.2 million soon afterward.) 

Since then, OurSpace operated out of a wagon, wheeling art supplies, snacks, and coffee down to the Arcata plaza on sunny days a couple times a week. They needed something else.

The $154,000 will buy a 30-foot trailer that OurSpace can set up out of four days a week (as well as a truck to haul it, plus expenses) letting them operate in places where many homeless people live. They’ll be able to haul around tables, awnings, and plenty of ways to create; Griffith likened her vision to something akin to a circus. OurSpace participants have said they’d like to have everything from printmaking supplies to clay to musical instruments. The loss of the church’s piano was a blow to many of them, Griffith said. 

Future plans for the group include an art show, the fourth edition of their zine, and a mural.

Obviously, being homeless is stressful. Focusing on securing basic amenities and a place to sleep every night doesn’t leave any space to unwind, Griffith said. Spending a few hours every week on something whimsical like a poem or a painting lets people burn off some energy and relax; making new friends who are in the same situation as you, that can understand what you’re going through, helps too. 

Griffith said she’s asked participants what kind of living situation they’d want, if the world was ideal. “We’ve had people kind of pause and be like, ‘Wow. Nobody asks me that,’” Griffith said. “To actually take the time and space to think about more than just what is right in front of them is really beneficial for folks.”

“There’s a huge disconnect in our community between people who are housed and people who are not,” she said. “And it is so wonderful to be able to connect in a way that isn’t about anybody’s housing status. It’s about our shared humanity…We need to figure out a way to move past that barrier between those who are housed and those who are not, because it’s not going to get any easier.”

The money for these projects comes from $4 billion in settlements from several massive lawsuits California brought against opioid distributors and manufacturers for their roles in starting and perpetuating the ongoing opioid epidemic (including Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Perdue, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson and Johnson’s parent company). 85% of the settlement money goes to local governments and must be spent on programs that focus on alleviating the harms from widespread opioid addiction, which can include increasing services for the homeless. 

Since 2022, Arcata has received $491,000 of the funds and will likely add just short of $1 million to the pile over the next 13 years. Payouts are scheduled to stop in 2028, but the city will earn more funding from pending or future lawsuits.

Another $217,000 of the funds went to the Arcata House Partnership (AHP), another group that offers food and shelter for the homeless, to rent 20 motel rooms in Valley West for temporary emergency housing. It will operate from Nov. 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026 on a first-come, first-served basis. Besides shelter, residents will receive substance-use disorder treatments, food, and mental health support. The focus will be on homeless people living in illegal encampments. 

AHP is candid about the shortcomings of the project. 

“There will not be enough staff or time to successfully resolve most people from being homeless to being sheltered or housed and addressing opioid use,” reads their proposal. “Nor will most people involved want to transition to a shelter or permanent housing or participate in harm reduction or recovery offerings. This will be an immediate but temporary option. There is simply not enough funding, shelter beds or permanent housing to successfully resolve most people.”

Participants will be allowed to stay for 60 days, maximum. 

Arcata city manager Merritt Perry said that the city approached AHP with a desire to help out with any urgent needs they had, and worked together to come up with a budget the city felt was sustainable. 

“Rather than having these funds sit there and not do any good,” Perry said at the meeting, “How can we do some good in the community now?”

Despite the program’s limitations, AHP Executive Director Darlene Spoor thinks it’ll at least make some positive impact. 

“But why would we even try at this point to encourage people to seek recovery when we have no other option?” Spoor said to the council. “So this is the beginning. This is the option. This is how we connect with people. We bring them in.”

AHP did not respond to a request for comment as of publication.

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

On November 12th, 2025, The Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) served a multi-location search warrant for Fransico Javier Herrera-Mancillas (31 years old from Arcata) and Jesus Diaz Palacios (44 years old from Sonora, Mexico) and their associated residences located in the 2000 block of Mad River Road in Arcata, 1500 block of Spear Avenue in Arcata and the 4900 block of Monterey Drive, in Arcata.

During the months of October and November 2025, HCDTF investigated an Arcata based drug trafficking organization in which they identified Herrera-Mancillas and Palacios as being the leaders. 

Upon service of the search warrants, Agents located over 2 and a half pounds of cocaine, over 2 ounces of methamphetamine and $12,304.00 in US currency. 

At the conclusion of the investigation, HCDTF booked Herrera-Mancillas into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for the following charges:

• HS 11351 – Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• HS 11352(a) – Transportation of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• HS 11378 – Possession of a narcotic for the purpose of sales

At the conclusion of the investigation, HCDTF booked Palacios into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for the following charges:

• HS 11351 - Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• HS 11352(a) - Transportation of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales
• PC 182(a)(1) - Conspiracy

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

Press release from Mike McGuire for Congress:

State Senate Leader Mike McGuire today announced his grassroots campaign for Congress in California’s 1st Congressional District, pledging to bring his can-do approach, successful record of delivering results for rural California, and relentless energy to our nation’s capital.

Senator McGuire — raised by his single mom and grandma on a small ranch in Sonoma County — has built his life around a simple code passed down by his grandmother: work hard, work together, and never take “no” for an answer.

These words to live by have defined his leadership in the State Senate, where he’s rolled up his sleeves and achieved major progress on some of California’s toughest issues. As President of the California State Senate, McGuire led efforts to make life more affordable for millions of Californians — building workforce housing, protecting rural healthcare, and modernizing local schools. McGuire led the way in making California more wildfire-safe, doubling the number of CalFire firefighters. And, known for his tireless work ethic, he’s been relentless in his fight against Donald Trump’s attacks on our communities and our democracy.

“Together, we’ve been fighting tooth and nail for Northern California — making our state more wildfire-safe, investing record funding in our kids and public schools, standing up to corporate polluters, and defending this state from Donald Trump’s vicious attacks,” Senator McGuire said. “Now, we’re going to bring that fight to Washington — to bring down costs for working families, protect healthcare for every American, and defend our democracy from Donald Trump. I’m all in for Northern California, every damn day.”

As Senate Leader, McGuire led the most impactful affordability package in decades — providing $60 billion in electric bill rebates, advancing the renters’ tax credits, deploying broadband to rural communities, and expanding the first-time home buyers program. He’s expanded childcare, kept rural hospitals open, and created good-paying jobs across Northern California.

McGuire enters the race with major endorsements from some of Northern California’s most influential Democratic leaders — earning the support of Senator Adam Schiff, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Jared Huffman, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (ret), and every Democratic County Supervisor in the district. Rep. Mike Thompson praised Senator McGuire’s record of effective leadership and deep roots in the region.

“Mike McGuire has delivered for Northern California — from wildfire response and recovery to schools, from affordable housing to healthcare,” said Congressman Thompson. “He’ll be a powerful voice in Congress for the working families and rural communities he’s always championed.”

McGuire is running to unseat Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress. LaMalfa has voted repeatedly to defund Planned Parenthood, to strip millions of Americans of their healthcare (42% of CA-01 is enrolled in Medicaid), to gut wildfire prevention funding, and he has repeatedly sided with corporate interests over working Californians.

“We need a leader who will stand up for all of us, not a lapdog for Donald Trump. Doug LaMalfa has spent years voting against the people of Northern California — taking food off our tables, ripping healthcare away from millions, and making life more expensive for all of us — all while giving billionaires the biggest tax breaks they’ve ever seen. Enough is enough; it’s time for a change. Starting today, we’ll be in every single city and town in these nine counties — knocking on thousands of doors in the biggest grassroots campaign the North State has seen in decades,” McGuire said.

Mike and his wife Erika live in Geyserville with their son Connor, next door to his mom, along with their pug Gertrude.