Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On April 29, 2026, at approximately 1 p.m., an officer with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding near the intersection of I and Buhne Streets.

The driver was identified as Ernest Rocha, a 65-year-old Arcata resident. A records check revealed that Rocha was on probation.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle conducted pursuant to his probation terms, officers located approximately 12.5 grams of methamphetamine, along with pepper spray and bear spray.

Rocha was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of pepper spray, and violation of probation.

Every year, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury spends time studying up on various questions or controversies involving local government, and at the end of the year publishes its findings. It’s a wonderful institution.

And though the current Grand Jury runs through the end of June, it’s kicking things off early with a report on the Eel River Conservation Camp, the Redway-area institution that houses convicted felons nearing the end of their sentence and employs them in various productive, outdoorsy activities — most notably, fighting wildfires.

This year the Grand Jury takes us inside for a tour of the conservation camp, which is run by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. And it’s no exaggeration to say that the GJ really likes what it found!

From the report:

Overall, the Grand Jury was impressed with the condition, operation and function of the Conservation Camp during our inspections. The Grand Jury observed that safety precautions were in place, safety equipment was up to date, and inmates appeared healthy, adequately clothed, housed and fed. Inmates seemed at ease, cooperative with, and respectful of, each other and staff, proud of the work they do, and of the skills they are acquiring.

In sum, the Grand Jury has one and only one recommendation to improve conditions at the Conservation Camp: Get a better internet connection!

But you can read the full report below for a more complete look at how the camp operates and what it aims to accomplish, and you can check out the Grand Jury’s summary in press release form underneath that.

Note: The next Grand Jury year is coming up fast, and they’re always looking for more citizens to sign up. If you have some free time that you’d like to devote to good governance, they’d love to hear from you.

###

DOCUMENT:

• “Fighting Fires, Changing Lives: Eel River Conservation Camp Civil Grand Jury Report,” April 30, 2026 (PDF)

###

Press release from the Humboldt County Grand Jury:

Fighting Fires, Changing Lives - Eel River Conservation Camp

“Without a doubt, if there is a program within the state that can help somebody go from an incarcerated life to never coming back to an incarcerated life, this is the program that can do it.”

– Fred Money, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, quoted in the Sacramento Bee Article on the “Importance of Fire Crews,” 05/31/24.

The Civil Grand Jury Report, “Fighting Fires, Changing Lives - Eel River Conservation Camp” was published today on the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury website.

The Grand Jury is required by state law to “inquire into the condition and management of the public prisons within the county.” Beyond the need to know whether these institutions are well run and pose no threat to our community, isn’t it important to know how your tax dollars are being spent and whether this investment of your money is benefiting you?

Among the Grand Jury’s findings:

The Eel River Conservation Camp meets or exceeds goals for contributions to the community, leading to a healthy, trusting relationship between the camp and the community.

Basic job skills are learned and practiced, making Eel River Conservation Camp inmates more employable and thus benefitting themselves, their families and their communities.

Through training, education, and on-the-job work experience, inmate employment opportunities post-incarceration increase, helping the Eel River Conservation Camp recidivism rate decline.

The Grand Jury Responsibilities:

The Humboldt County Superior Court annually appoints 19 county residents as grand jurors to serve as citizen watchdogs over local government.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has jurisdiction over Humboldt County districts, cities, agencies, and departments and examines all aspects of county and city government to ensure honest, efficient government in the best interests of the people.

The Jury receives and investigates complaints from individuals concerning the actions and performances of county or public officials. Additional information about the Civil Grand Jury, complaint forms, and juror applications can be found on the website.

###

PREVIOUSLY: Five Old-Growth Redwoods Were Cut Down in Lower Redway. How Could That Happen?

###

The removal of a massive old-growth redwood tree in Southern Humboldt is currently underway. 

The towering 252-foot tree — estimated to be between 350 and 370 years old — is one of several “hazardous” old-growth redwoods removed from a residential parcel on the corner of Oakridge Drive and Briceland Road in Lower Redway in recent months, sparking outrage among some neighbors and environmental advocates, though the action appears to comply with state law.

This afternoon, a handful of locals gathered at the corner lot with signs that read “Stop Logging Old Growth” and “Honor the Elders,” hoping against hope that their efforts would stop the centuries-old tree from being cut. (A video of the protest signs can be seen in this video posted to Facebook.)

Redway resident Sue Maloney told the Outpost that six sheriff’s vehicles had shown up at the property this morning to deter a group of protestors from parking within the work zone. “We parked too close to the fence, thinking we could stop them from sending the limbs down, but we were told to move our vehicles.”

Maloney shared the following video from the scene:

Asked how Scarlett responded to their presence, Maloney said, “We’ve talked to each other a little bit, and he said, ‘I don’t have any problem with you guys being here,’ but we’re clearly on opposite sides of the issue.”

Reached by phone this afternoon, Scarlett declined the Outpost’s offer to comment on this story. We’ve reached out to his attorney, Tonya Farmer, for comment as well, but we’ve yet to hear back. 

Since the first round of old-growth redwoods was chopped down at the end of last year, Maloney and several other long-time environmental advocates have called on county officials to take immediate action, expressing concern that the case sets a dangerous precedent for old-growth trees throughout Lower Redway.

“We’ve had several conversations with [Humboldt Planning Director] John Ford and [Second District Supervisor] Michelle Bushnell, as well as the director of CalFire and [Hank Seemann], the deputy director of environmental services,” Maloney said. “It’s a lot of run around about who has jurisdiction, and ‘We’ll meet with you in the future!’ but, in the meantime, this tree [is being] climbed to be cut.”

The Lower Redway Q Zone is depicted in yellow. | Map: County of Humboldt

Maloney and others were under the impression that the trees were protected by a county-designated “Q Zone,” a special zoning ordinance created in 1996 to safeguard old-growth redwoods near the John B. DeWitt State Natural Reserve. Under the county policy, trees exceeding 12 inches in diameter can only be cut “in an emergency situation” when trees are “threatening people or property.” 

As the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CalFire has permitting and enforcement jurisdiction over timber operations on timberland pursuant to the Forest Practice Act of 1973. The county also has a hand in the permitting process, but it’s taken a step back in recent years due to a provision in the act that precludes the county from requiring permits that would supersede an exemption from the state.

A request to clear up the confusion around state versus county jurisdiction and potentially increase protections provided by the Q Zone was placed on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ April 20 agenda, but the item was removed from the docket at the beginning of the meeting without explanation.

As previously reported by the Outpost, last year, Scarlett secured a hazard tree exemption for the removal of “approximately five” old-growth redwoods at his Lower Redway property. The trees were inspected by CalFire Supervising Forester Lucas Titus, who made the following determination in his report:

“During the inspection approximately five trees/clumps were identified all within 30 feet of structures as having the defect and site conditions indicative of tree failure. These identified trees have already damaged the roof and deck of the main habitable structure and caused damage to the adjacent shed and adjacent property and continue to pose a safety threat.”

The county issued a stop-work order last month to prevent the remaining old-growth redwood from being cut down, but that order was lifted last month after an arborist determined the tree “poses a threat to multiple residential structures and the people who reside there, as well as the power lines and roads that are in the vicinity.” 

“Mitigation options such as pruning would be unfeasible without retaining a high level of risk due to the lack of remaining canopy and the severe trunk damage the tree has suffered,” according to a March 24 report written by Stephen Hohman, an arborist with Hohman and Associates Forestry Consulting, Inc. “It would be unreasonable to expect the residents of this house to continue to live at this address without addressing the risk posed by this tree. Therefore, I would recommend the immediate removal of this tree due to the potential of severe consequences that would result in the case of this tree’s failure.”

When we spoke earlier this afternoon, Maloney said the tree was in the process of being topped, and suspected it would be taken down in the next day or two.

The Outpost’s request for comment from CalFire and Planning and Builder Director John Ford was not returned before publication. We’ll update this post with their responses if we hear back.

###

PREVIOUSLY

• Hospice of Humboldt Just Doubled Its Capacity for Inpatient Care, and It Aims to Double Palliative Care By Next Year
• CalMatters: Sham Hospice Schemes Are Bilking Medicare — and Harming California Seniors

###

Yesterday, the Outpost published a CalMatters story about a recent wave of billing fraud, particularly in Southern California, in which fake or low-quality hospice operators are defrauding Medicare at the expense of both patients and taxpayers.

Fortunately, the local community is served by the highly regarded Hospice of Humboldt, which provides comprehensive end-of-life care, palliative care and bereavement services from its picturesque campus at 3327 Timber Fall Court in Eureka as well as out in the community. 

Nevertheless, employees of our local hospice have been fielding questions from the public, especially donors, about whether and how this fraud could impact Hospice of Humboldt.

In a phone interview this morning,  CEO Dianne Keating said the best tool to differentiate between a quality organization like Hospice of Humboldt and an exploitative or phony one is the Medicare Care Compare website. Operated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the site allows patients, families and caregivers to search for and compare Medicare-certified healthcare providers, including hospices.

“Hospice of Humboldt does an amazing job providing end-of-life care,” Keating said. “I mean, we have an amazing Hospice House, incredible palliative care program, and we do whatever it takes to meet patients and families where they are and serve them. But we don’t want to get entangled in this southern LA County challenge, because we’re nothing like that.”

Rep. Jared Huffman also offered his appreciation and support for our region’s hospice organizations.

“End-of-life care is a deeply personal and important experience, and families deserve to know their loved ones are in good hands,” Huffman said in a prepared statement. “I’m grateful the majority of hospice care centers in our region provide top-quality services for communities on the North Coast. I encourage constituents to use the federal government’s website to confirm that your local provider is above board and applying the best care.”

On the Medicare Care Compare site you can:

• Search local hospice providers by ZIP code or city
• Confirm whether a hospice is medicare-certified
• Compare hospices side-by-side
• Review quality scores and performance data
• See family/caregiver satisfaction results from surveys
• View contact information and service areas

Here’s the link again.

Keating encouraged anyone with questions to contact Hospice of Humboldt. 

“I’m happy to answer any questions [and] give anybody a tour,” she said. “I mean, if they come and see our facility and talk about our services, they’ll understand that we put everything back into our mission, and we are a completely mission-driven organization.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• Amazon Confirms Plans for a Distribution Warehouse in McKinleyville

###

A volatile meeting held last night to discuss the proposed Amazon distribution warehouse in McKinleyville drew a large crowd, almost everyone in it fiercely against the project.

Roughly 200 people flocked to the four-hour meeting, filling up Azalea Hall; attendees lined the walls and sat in almost every seat. Hosted by the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department, it was put on to discuss the department’s permitting process and share information about the project, as well as to give people a chance to share their opinions on the idea. 

Two representatives from Amazon attended the meeting: Sonya Kinz, a developer for a sub-contractor, and Stephen Maduli-Williams, an Amazon senior economic development manager. When John Ford, the county’s planning director, announced them, they were booed. Hostility towards Amazon was a common theme throughout the meeting. Heckling was constant. 

“There’s no decision, on the part of the county, in terms of what happens [with the project],” Ford said early in the meeting. “We’re here to hear you. We’re here to understand. I think Amazon has the same objective.” A few dozen people laughed.

The land the facility would be built on is zoned for industrial use, which allows warehouses. But because the property is in the coastal zone, Amazon needs a Coastal Development Permit to construct anything. The county’s planning commission is the entity tasked with deciding if they’ll grant it. Although California’s Coastal Commission can appeal their decision, they’d be appealing it to themselves, and the outcome would be a summary judgement based on the existence of a “substantial coastal issue,” Ford said. The planning commission will decide in February next year if they’ll grant the permit, though the decision can be appealed to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the Coastal Commission.

The complicated process prompted many questions about the county’s relationship with Amazon. Some commenters questioned the county’s motives, theorizing that the government gave Amazon some kind of tax incentive that incentivized it to build a warehouse here. Ford and Maduli-Williams, the Amazon representative, explained that wasn’t the case. 

Maduli-Williams also presented a slideshow. He emphasized that the warehouse was much smaller than other last-mile Amazon warehouses — about 40,000 square feet vs. more than 150,000 in other communities — and that though the facility was open at all hours, it wasn’t necessarily going to be active around the clock. Vans wouldn’t run day-and-night either. He claimed that the warehouse would create 227 jobs, about 115 of them full-time. Annual payroll would be roughly $8 million; about $30 million would be invested in McKinleyville. Maduli-Williams said the average wage would be $22 an hour, and workers would receive benefits as well.

The meeting almost ended 45 minutes in when rowdy attendees, champing at the bit to speak and share their opinions, interrupted Maduli-Williams’ presentation, yelling and shouting. Ford wasn’t pleased.

“What we’ve done tonight is come out for your benefit,” he said. “And I know some of you know everything —” he was shouted down for a moment “— Would — would you — You know, I get letters with all kinds of expletives, and I’ve been flipped off before, and I expected more from McKinleyville, frankly.” The crowd jeered.

An older woman, who said she was Yurok, got up on the mic and appealed to the common order and the traditions of local tribes, who she said, wouldn’t act like this.  The rabble-rousers quieted, and Maduli-Williams finished his presentation. But the back-and-forth between the crowd and the presenters (both from the government and from Amazon), continued through the rest of the meeting.

“If you’d like to talk to a sheriff’s deputy, that can be arranged,” Ford later said to one woman in the crowd. “This is really not a good representation — can you stop yelling, please?”

Another woman insinuated that they should burn down the warehouse.

“I’m concerned that there’s an epidemic of warehouse fires sweeping this country,” she said. “My concern is that building this warehouse presents a 100% increase in risk of warehouse fires in this community. Did y’all know,” she said to the audience, “that anyone can buy a drip torch at our local hardware store? It’s a great way to support local businesses.” People cheered.

The line of people who wanted to comment on the project stretched back to the rear wall and wrapped around the inside of the building. Many of them brought up the infamously poor working conditions prevalent at many Amazon facilities, the beautiful, sensitive surrounding scenery, the damaging and unsustainable effects shipping millions of packages worldwide every day has on the environment, Amazon’s relationships with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and labor unions, and the money small business owners lose out on when competing with Amazon. Maduli-Williams said the site in McKinleyville was selected because it was zoned for industrial use, and because the company sees demand for their services here in Humboldt.

Several commenters talked about a recent death of an Amazon worker at a facility in Troutdale; employees were reportedly instructed to keep working while a man died on the warehouse floor. Maduli-Williams called the Troutdale incident “misinformation,” and said that the man who died was being given space so trained “CPR professionals” could work on him.

Besides one woman who said she wanted the facility built to bring jobs to the county, everyone that shared their thoughts was firmly against it.

“Humboldt County needs jobs, and I completely understand the impulse to allow a new employer to move into the area,” a woman named Isabelle said. “I ask everybody to consider what kind of employers we’re allowing into our community. Humboldt needs jobs, jobs with living wages, good health benefits for all employees, and safe working conditions. What we don’t need is people like Jeff Bezos, a man with a vested interest in continuing to make our country a worse place for the working class, while getting rich off of our labor [with] unrealistic work quotas, dangerous warehouse conditions, union busting and driving out local business in the name of shareholder profit. Where do we, as a community, draw the line? I think what we are learning is that we draw the line here…I care about my neighbors. I care about other working class people. And I care about Humboldt County, and I urge you all to do the same.”

###

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

###

Small businesses already navigating the costs and chaos of tariffs must now also contend with the effects of the war in Iran.

“It just feels like things keep getting piled on top,” said Nichole MacDonald, owner of a San Diego business that sells women’s bags. “Not just for businesses, but for consumers. And what is a business without consumers?”

Since her customers are feeling financial pain just like her, they’re spending less money on discretionary items, she said. If they are still buying, they’re choosing denim bags over leather because they’re cheaper.

“Each level of pressure, economic uncertainty and tightening of the purse strings impacts people’s decisions on spending,” the Sash Bag owner said.

Other small retailers in the area tell similar stories of increased costs and having to adjust to continued tariff uncertainty in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that invalidated the bulk of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs. In some cases, such as if they imported their own goods, they might be able to apply for tariff refunds, though the timeline for receiving refunds is unclear. The president also imposed new tariffs based on a different law, against which California and other states have filed a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, everyone has been hit with higher shipping costs because fuel prices have gone up. The average price for regular unleaded gas in the state is $5.55, up from $4.79 a year ago, according to AAA. The national average is $4.11 vs. $3.15 a year ago. The spikes in gas prices caused inflation to rise in March. Consumer confidence is at a record low.

Higher prices hit small businesses — defined as those with fewer than 500 employees — harder than big ones, and some wonder how long they can survive. That’s bad news for the state, whose small businesses create millions of new jobs a year and lately have been responsible for 99% of net new jobs, according to the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.

Lost sales, staff and more

MacDonald, whose business brings in six figures a month, said she saw her 2025 sales drop by up to 50% compared with the previous year. Because of tariffs, she stopped manufacturing products in China and has shifted entirely to India. She went from 11 staff members to three. And because she spent tens of thousands of dollars on tariffs, she said she didn’t have money to bring in inventory for the holidays.

She uses brokers to import her offerings, so she’s waiting to hear from them about possible tariff refunds. But even if she does eventually receive refunds, she said the damage has been done: “That money could’ve gone to personnel or to growth, instead of going to a tax.”

The president’s policies have had a global impact. Last week, MacDonald’s longtime manufacturing partner in India informed her that costs for raw material have gone up 25%, so that will mean higher costs for new production. After increasing prices about 10% last year, she will probably have to raise them again because she is working on thin margins, she said.

First: Several Sash bags hang on a clothing rack inside Nichole MacDonald’s home. Last: MacDonald holds a “mystical eye” earring while livestreaming a sale in San Diego on April 23, 2026. Photos by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

The top executive at the Port of Long Beach, one of the nation’s biggest ports, recently talked about higher costs being passed on to small businesses and consumers.

“For a while, shippers absorbed rising costs from fuel spikes to last year’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs,” said Noel Hacegaba, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, during a media briefing earlier this month. “That’s no longer the case. Today, those costs are being passed along across the board. We’re seeing new surcharges and higher rates.”

He said major shippers are instituting fuel surcharges, and adjusting how they move cargo. Amazon is adding a 3.5% third-party seller surcharge for fuel and logistics. The U.S. Postal Service is planning a temporary 8% surcharge, and UPS and FedEx also have raised their surcharges.

Hacegaba was joined by Jonathan Gold, vice president at National Retail Federation, who said the nation’s small retailers are seeing a disproportionate impact. “Small businesses in particular don’t have the ability to absorb cost increases and typically have to pass those along to the end consumer,” Gold said.

‘We can only charge so much’

But small retailers don’t want to drive their loyal customers away.

Rema Abedkader is feeling the squeeze all around, with higher shipping costs being the latest pain point, but she hesitates to pass along the costs to her shoppers. The designer of women’s clothing said she does not want to raise prices because it will just deter those who are still spending.

“We can only charge so much, so we’re having to eat that cost again,” she said.

Designer Rema Abedkader prepares for a live sale of her clothing line from her home office in Temecula on April 25, 2026. Photo by Zoë Meyers for CalMatters

Abedkader, who makes her eponymous REMA clothing brand in the San Diego area but buys imported fabric from Los Angeles-based companies, said she had to cut back on production by about 30% last year, which meant fewer sales. This year, she has had to reduce production by about 50%.

Her decreased business has had a widespread effect on her local ecosystem, all of whom are small business owners themselves.

“When I’m not producing, there’s no work for my sewer, pattern maker and cutter,” she said. That causes a vicious cycle: “My manufacturer had to get a second job, so our business had to be put on the back burner.”

Abedkader said she’s working four times harder and is having to get creative with marketing and by doing wholesale locally.

“If the government doesn’t do something for small business, a lot of us are going to be going out of business very soon,” she said.

Like Abedkader, women’s apparel designer and maker Jennafer Grace Carter knows fabric brokers and importers in the Los Angeles area who have shut down because of tariff costs.

The Trump administration’s immigration policies have also affected her business. Carter, who uses imported materials but makes her clothing domestically, said a lot of people were afraid to come to work. One shop that had 25 people sewing now sees less than half of them coming to work, she said, adding that the workers are “here legally but look a certain way” so they are scared.

Her handmade Jennafer Grace brand has had to scale back on styles to adjust to that shift, she said.

The bottom line is that Carter is dealing with “less labor force, (fewer) materials and higher costs,” she said. She has raised her prices only incrementally, because people won’t buy if a business changes prices too drastically, she said.

First: Designer Rema Abedkader makes notes on a jacket design on April 25, 2026. Last: Text and photos on the wall of Abedkader’s office in Temecula detail her company’s origins. Photos by Zoë Meyers for CalMatters

Carter recently returned to California from direct-to-consumer events in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Ariz. The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has not only affected her shipping costs, it has also raised her travel costs. Her customers were in the same boat. She heard some attendees talking about how “it was so expensive to get here… I wanted to shop more.”

Higher costs’ long-term impact

The pain of higher costs seems unlikely to go away anytime soon. For one thing, the uncertainty continues.

“Whether it be on shores around the world or right here at home with erratic policy, it makes it very difficult for business people to plan,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, during a media briefing this month.

Even those whose businesses have an opportunity to benefit from what’s going on are expressing pessimism.

“It’s going to be harder and harder for small businesses,” said Ellie Rose, owner of Calibaja Manufacturing, which contracts with U.S. businesses to make their products in Mexico. Those businesses avoid import tariffs because most products made in Mexico are still governed by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — although the free trade deal is being reconsidered.

Rose said the small business owners she speaks with are seeing growing challenges. It’s taking a lot longer than before to get their products to the United States, she said — 100 to 165 days on a ship vs. the 30 to 60 days it used to take.

“That’s components, finished goods, whatever you need coming from Asia,” she said. “It’s going to slow everything down and cost more.”

And if or when fuel prices come back down, she doubts businesses will lower their prices because they’ve had to bear increased costs for the past couple of years. That’s going to affect innovation, Rose said: “Down the line this is going to be more of a problem for everybody.”

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Jose Lourenco Homem Jr., born January 1, 1929, in Porto Judeu, Terceira, Azores. Jose passed away peacefully on April 22, 2026, at the age of 97, surrounded by his loved ones, leaving behind a legacy of love, resilience and family devotion.

Jose was raised in Porto Judeu, where he met his first love, Maria Madalena Dutra Coelho. Jose and Maria grew up in the same town. When Jose went to work for Maria’s father, Jose and Maria’s early connection continued to grow into a lifelong partnership. Jose and Maria were married on January 29, 1953, beginning a life centered on love, family and hard work. On November 7, 1953, they welcomed their first child, Jose Dutra Lourenco.

In pursuit of opportunity, Jose moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, where some of his family had immigrated. There, Jose established a home and was joined by his wife and son. Together, they continued to grow their family, welcoming Maria Amelia, Maria Fatima and Amarildo Dutra Lourenco. While in Brasil, Jose owned and operated three butcher shops and developed a lifelong love of soccer, especially for his favorite club, Vasco da Gama.

In 1971, Jose brought his family to the United States, settling in Arcata, California, after being sponsored by his sister, Gabriella Murphy, and her husband, Bob. He was the last of the eleven brothers and sisters to immigrate to America. Upon arriving, Jose worked at Simpson Timber Company alongside his son and many extended family members. In 1975, Jose and Maria welcomed their youngest child, Madalena Patricia, completing their family.

In 1981, Jose fulfilled a lifelong dream by establishing his own dairy, a testament to his determination, resilience and commitment to providing for his family. He found immense joy in life on the dairy, often referring to the ranch as his Disneyland, where he cared deeply for his cows — affectionately known as “his ladies.” Some of his happiest moments were spent watching his grandchildren play in the barn and climb the hay, creating memories that will live on for generations.

After nearly 37 years of marriage, Jose’s beloved wife Maria Madalena Homem passed away on November 22, 1989. Jose later married Gloria Sousa, welcoming two stepchildren, Robbie and Jennifer, into the family. Jose and Gloria were later blessed by the birth of their son, Jeffrey Lourenco Azevedo.

Jose and Gloria were married for 35 years and enjoyed travelling, spending time with family, attending festas, celebrations and working hard to support themselves and the growing family. Jose and Gloria weathered hard times that were a testament to their strength, resilience and mutual support of one another.

Jose was deeply proud of his Portuguese heritage and remained closely connected to his community. He was an active member of the local Portuguese Hall, faithfully attending festas and contributing to its remodeling. He enjoyed watching Portuguese and Brazilian television, especially novellas, bull fighting videos and Carnival celebrations. Later in life, Jose returned to Rio de Janeiro with Gloria and his children for an epic trip. Jose revisited the places that he and his children once called home and celebrated Carnival in person. This family trip was a long-awaited and meaningful journey 30 years in the making.

Jose was known for his signature black cowboy hat and was rarely seen without it. He had a warm and memorable way of introducing himself — often with a smile and the words, “I’m Joe Homem,” a simple phrase that many will always remember.

Jose had a great sense of humor and loved to joke with those around him. He enjoyed making his own wine — often calling it “Portuguese diesel” — and took pride in traditions both old and new. He also spent time butchering cows at home to freak out his grandchildren, attending auctions at the Portuguese Hall and in Ferndale, and gathering with family and friends. He even liked to joke that he put “music in his tea,” his playful way of referring to a splash of whiskey.

Family was at the center of Jose’s life. He loved hosting gatherings at his home, where relatives would crowd around the table to share meals and laughter. Each year on New Year’s Day — his birthday — the entire family gathered at the ranch to celebrate him and welcome the year ahead, a tradition that reflected his deep love for togetherness. One of his favorite things for his birthday was to have his family sing to him in English and then in Portuguese before he blew out his candles.

Jose was preceded in death by his parents, Jose and Amelia Homem; his first wife, Maria Homem; his sisters, Maria Jose Dematos, Fatima Borges, Maria dos Santos Rafael, Natalia Oliveira, Gabriela Murphy; and his brothers, Manuel “Albino” Homem, David Homem, Antonio “Tony” Lourenco, Fernando Lourenco, Avelino Homem; and his in-laws Bob Murphy, Arthur Machado, Eduardo Rafael, Judy Lourenco and John DeMatos. He was also preceded in death by his son Jeffrey Lourenco Azevedo Homem, his stepson Robert “Robbie” Sousa and his son-in-law Dennis Turnbull.

He is survived by his wife, Gloria; sister Durvalina Machado; his in-laws, Jorlanda Lourenco, Anna Homem, Maria de Lourdes Homem, Manuel Coelho, Ana Paula Homem and Frank Olivera; son Jose (Mary) Homem; daughter Maria (Mike) Wendlandt; daughter Fatima Turnbull (Dennis), son Amarildo (Nicole) Homen; daughter-in-law Tracy Homen; daughter Madalena (Mark) Homen Thiery; stepdaughter Jennifer (Jon) Anderson; his grandchildren, Isidro (Bobbie) Wendlandt, Shannon (Nic) Collart, Michael (Victor) Wendlandt, Shawn (Britny) Homem, Scott (Kacie) Homen, Molly Homen, Blake Homen, Beau Turnbull, Rio Homen and Ruby Homen; his great-grandchildren, Cameron Wendlandt, Kiley Wendlandt, Bryce Homem, Rylee Collart, Chayce Homem, Dylan Collart, Myles Collart, Lilly Homem, Hattie Homen and Daisy Homen; his step-grandchildren Elizabeth Teixeira and Trevor Anderson; his step-great-grandchildren Aj Teixeira, Tatum Teixeira, Zoey Teixeira; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and loved ones.

Jose’s casket bearers will be his grandchildren, with his great-grandchildren serving as honorary pallbearers.

Jose will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great‑grandfather, known lovingly as Vovô. His life was defined by hard work, deep cultural pride, unwavering love for his family and the joy he found in bringing people together. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all who knew and loved him.

Funeral services for Jose Lourenco Homem will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata. A viewing will take place at 11:15 a.m., followed by the Rosary at 11:30 a.m. and the Funeral Mass at 12 p.m. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. A Celebration of Life reception will be held following the burial at the Portuguese Hall in Arcata.

Everyone who knew him is welcome to attend.

“A família é tudo.” (Family is everything.)

###

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