Following months of pushback from environmental advocates over the removal of an old-growth redwood in Lower Redway, the county is now requiring the landowner to obtain a special permit before the 252-foot tree can be cut down — a weeks-long process that will require a public hearing before the Humboldt County Planning Commission.
This is the latest in a five-month controversy over the removal of several old-growth redwoods from a corner lot, owned by CalFire employee Robert Scarlett, at Oakridge Drive and Briceland Road in Lower Redway.
Concerned that the centuries-old redwoods posed a hazard to his house, Scarlett secured a hazard tree exemption from CalFire to have the trees chopped down. When tree removal began late last year, environmental activists urged the county to intervene, arguing that the trees were protected by a county-designated “Q Zone” that prohibits the removal of old-growth redwoods near the John B. DeWitt State Natural Reserve. The dispute ignited a debate between the county and CalFire, which, as the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has permitting and enforcement jurisdiction over timber operations on timberland.
Just last week, several people showed up to protest the removal of the last remaining old-growth redwood on the property, a 252-foot tree estimated to be between 350 and 370 years old. County officials and local law enforcement intervened after several hours, halting operations and informing Scarlett that he would have to block the road to fell the tree safely, which requires an encroachment permit.
Asked why the county had decided to require Scarlett to obtain a special permit as well, Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford told the Outpost that the county just confirmed that its jurisdiction overrides CalFire’s in the Q Zone.
“In 2020, some redwoods were removed, and the county attempted to enforce against the removal,” Ford wrote via email. “We were told by both the County Forest Review Committee and CalFire that we did not have jurisdiction where a CalFire permit was being issued. That has been our understanding. Recently, I had a meeting with CalFire, [which] explained that we did have jurisdiction in the Q-Zone. Our understanding of county jurisdiction was incorrect, but that has been corrected.”
Asked about next steps for obtaining the special permit, Ford said the county will send out notices for the upcoming public hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the best circumstances, Ford said, it will be “several weeks” before a decision is made. If the decision is appealed to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, it will take even longer.
Reached for comment on the matter, Scarlett advised the Outpost to contact his attorney, Tonya Farmer, who provided the following statement via email: “Mr. Scarlett will continue to proceed in accordance with applicable law. Because this remains an evolving matter, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
Those opposed to the tree’s removal are celebrating the news. Redway resident Sue Maloney said she’s “hopeful that the last remaining 10-foot diameter, 252-foot-tall redwood that was slated to be destroyed will remain standing and old-growth redwood dependent critters will still have a home.
“There is only one reason to live in Lower Redway, and that’s because you want to live among the ancient redwoods,” Maloney wrote in an emailed statement. “The purpose of the Q-zone is to protect irreplaceable old-growth redwoods from being liquidated for profit. We believe the landowner and the registered professional forester, both CalFire employees, abused the exemption process, and our Humboldt County officials chose to shirk their responsibilities.”
“We are deeply saddened that four large redwoods were allowed to be destroyed, but we are elated that the county appears to finally be willing to give this issue the process it deserves,” she continued. “We urge the county not to weaken the [Q Zone] ordinance.”
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will review the county’s Q Zone at its June 2 meeting.
Mad River Community Hospital is located at 3800 Janes Road in Arcata. | Photos by Dezmond Remington.
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Late last week, the Outpost began hearing rumblings about serious turmoil at Mad River Community Hospital, and over the past five days we’ve communicated with a dozen people who either still work there or were recently let go. Collectively, they agree that there is cause for alarm.
In a series of phone conversations, emails and texts, these sources reported not only
a wave of recent layoffs but also a number of serious concerns related to patient
safety, employee working conditions and potential violations of state law.
“It’s a shit show,” said one of the numerous hospital workers who spoke to the
Outpost. “Employees have been talking for weeks about a walkout. Ninety percent
of nursing staff is miserable because of these changes and management. The
hospital used to have a family feel. It was a community, and now everybody hates
their job.”
The administration isn’t saying how many people have lost their jobs over the past few months, but current and former employees we interviewed say it’s at least 15. Those who’ve been terminated or not had their contracts renewed include valued doctors, the risk manager, the medical staff coordinator and most of the billing department. Others, including five experienced care providers in the Emergency Department, have quit.
Meanwhile, these sources say, nursing staff hours have been drastically reduced, with many RNs regularly being relegated to on-call status at a rate of $8 per hour, which, if true, is a violation of state labor laws. Under a recently introduced staffing matrix, the number of nurses in the Medical Surgical (Med/Surg) unit has been slashed to levels that compromise patient safety, several sources told the Outpost.
“Under the current model, there are often not enough nurses on individual units to safely cover required breaks and meals,” one source said in an email. “As a result, I am frequently pulled away from supervisory responsibilities to provide break coverage across ICU, Med/Surg, and the Emergency Department.”
Mad River’s billing services have been outsourced to a Tennessee-based company called Ovation Healthcare, and the remaining employees in that department are being told that they’ll no longer work for the hospital.
”[Mad River administrators] are telling us that we’re going to work for [Ovation] now,” said one of the remaining employees in that department. “It’s upsetting. If we don’t accept the [job] offer, it’s not considered a layoff; it’s considered a voluntarily resignation, so we’re not eligible for unemployment benefits. It’s kind of like pointing a gun to our head and forcing us to go with this new company.”
The current and former employees we’ve communicated with over the past few days requested anonymity due to fear of professional repercussions.
The Outpost reached out to hospital administrators on Monday, emailing a list of claims and concerns to Chief Operating Officer Matthew Anderson and asking exactly how many people have been laid off since the beginning of the year. In response, Anderson said that the hospital wants to respond but hoped we could wait to publish a story until after meeting in-person with members of the executive team next week.
We explained that we couldn’t wait that long to publish given the pressing nature of the concerns, which are already being widely discussed online. Anderson asked that we wait at least until this morning for a prepared response. Here it is:
Mad River Community Hospital recognizes the very real human impact of recent reductions to our workforce. We wish these difficult decisions were not necessary. However, the financial and operational pressures facing rural hospitals across California is an ongoing challenge.
Our responsibility is to preserve access to safe and reliable care and ensure the hospital can continue serving the community for the long term. Preserving Mad River is essential to maintaining meaningful local choice and healthcare capacity for the patients and families in this region.
We are adapting to challenges by making necessary decisions with a full commitment to the safety of our patients and staff and fulfilling all the legal obligations of our industry. Suggestions otherwise are false. We remain committed to transparency and dialogue with our community. Thank you for your continued faith in us.
The hospital didn’t respond to any of the specific allegations employees made about current patient safety and compliance with state law.
This upheaval comes at a particularly difficult time for independent, rural hospitals nationwide. Over the past two decades, nearly 200 rural hospitals have completely or partially closed, and another 400, representing more than 20 percent of rural hospitals nationwide, are at risk of closure.
Mad River is one of them, and three years ago the board of directors announced its intent to sell the hospital to an Arizona-based hospital management company. However, the deal fell through less than nine months later, and former Chief Executive David Neal was unexpectedly ousted around the same time. Longtime CEO Douglas Shaw, meanwhile, is in his mid-70s. Employees say he’s ready to retire.
Mad River’s current chief executive, Suzanne Richards, took the helm in August, according to her LinkedIn profile. Mad River was recently identified as one of 83 California hospitals at heightened risk of closing, cutting services or laying off staff due to the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding cuts in H.R. 1, President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
On Tuesday we received a copy of a letter of support for Mad River’s hospitalist and general surgeon, Dr. Then Tong, who has worked at the hospital for nine and a half years and was recently told that his contract will not be renewed, several sources said. As of Tuesday, the letter had received 57 signatures and counting. You can read it here.
The people we’ve interviewed for this story relayed many more specific concerns and allegations about what’s happening at Mad River. For example, they say administrators have usurped the independent authority of the medical staff board in violation of Title 22 regulations; the Staff Development Department, which was widely considered integral to staff competency and regulatory compliance, was recently eliminated; and the work environment has become hostile, rife with fears of retribution for speaking up about these issues.
Several said they’ve filed complaints with state regulators at the California Department of Public Health and/or the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.
The Outpost will continue to report on these issues.
Press release from the Humboldt County Office of Elections:
On
Monday, May 4, Humboldt County Office of Elections staff discovered
596 uncounted sealed ballots from the November 4, 2025 Statewide
Special Election inside a locked ballot drop box. Under Section
2.5 of Article II of the California Constitution,
these ballots should have been counted before the election was
certified on Dec. 5, 2025.
Immediately
after the discovery, elections staff worked to ensure proper protocol
was followed. It was confirmed the uncounted ballots had not been
tampered with because the drop box was locked and the ballots were
sealed. The Humboldt County Office of Elections then worked in
partnership with the California Secretary of State to determine next
steps.
The
Office of Elections and the state have both confirmed that counting
these ballots will not change the result of the November 4, 2025
Statewide Special Election. However, it is important that Humboldt
County Office of Elections explore every available option to get
these votes counted.
Under Elections
Code §17302,
ballots from the November 4, 2025 Statewide Special Election must be
destroyed six months after the election was certified. However, the
County of Humboldt will be pursuing all legal avenues to get the
ballots counted.
The
Humboldt County Office of Elections has determined that this error
occurred when election workers checked the drop box and there was a
miscommunication about whether it had been fully emptied. The
Elections Office has already updated its protocols to make sure this
will not happen again. A lock out, tag out procedure is now in place
for every drop box prior to certification to ensure each one is
physically verified as empty and secured before elections results are
finalized.
The
Humboldt County Office of Elections will continue to pursue options
to count these ballots and will provide the public when an update as
more information becomes available.
Below
is a statement from Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of
Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes:
“On
Monday night around 6 p.m. I was made aware that a ballot drop box
from the November 2025 Special Election for Prop 50 was not fully
emptied. As a result, 596 ballots were left uncounted. That outcome
is unacceptable and runs counter to the core of what this office
stands for.
“While
the mistake occurred after an election worker did not follow proper
procedures, the responsibility for what happened ultimately sits with
me. I did not have strong enough controls in place to prevent this,
but we do now. We have taken corrective action and already updated
our protocols. A new lock out, tag out procedure has been implemented
for every ballot drop box to ensure each box is physically verified
as empty and secured before election results are finalized.
“We
ask a lot of voters. We ask you to participate, to trust the process
and to believe that your vote will be counted. 596 voters did exactly
what we asked of them, and we fell short.
“We
will be pursuing all legal avenues to get your ballots counted.
“My
team and I take great care to ensure accurate elections, and we were
incredibly disappointed to discover this error. This discovery
highlights why strong systems, redundancy and clear accountability
must be in place at every step in the election process. In this case,
those safeguards were not sufficient. That responsibility is mine and
I am deeply sorry.
“I
have always emphasized the importance of honesty and transparency in
this office. I am sharing this with you because you deserve to know
when we fall short, not just when things go right. I promise you that
we are taking this seriously. We will strengthen our processes and
continue pushing toward the standard our community expects and
deserves. As long as I serve as your county Clerk-Recorder &
Registrar of Voters, I will continue to operate with transparency and
remain accountable to you.”
On May 5, 2026, at approximately 2:40 p.m., Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to
the vicinity of Grotto and E Street for a report of a strong-arm robbery.
Upon arrival, Officers contacted the reporting party, who stated that two male subjects had taken several
tools from their construction site. When confronted by an employee, one of the suspects struck the employee,
causing injury to the victim’s face. The suspects were last seen fleeing westbound on Grotto Street on bicycles.
Officers canvassing the area located a male subject matching the description of one of the suspects. The victim
positively identified the individual as Sandro Ramirez-Uribe, 46 years old of Eureka, who was subsequently
taken into custody.
The second suspect was identified as Moises Bandabalmaceda, 33 years old of Eureka. Officers responded to
his residence, where he was located hiding under a shed in the backyard and taken into custody without
incident.
Both suspects were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, where they were booked on
charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime.
From left, candidates Tony Thurmond, Chad Bianco, Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa stand on stage for the CBS California Gubernatorial Debate at Bridges Auditorium on the campus of Pomona College in Claremont on April 28, 2026. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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Whoever takes the mantle as California’s next governor will face an immediate test as they try to solve the crisis of homelessness on our streets.
Nearly a quarter of all homeless U.S. residents live in California, though the state is only home to 11% of the country’s overall population. Voters are frustrated by encampments that don’t seem to get any smaller. Amid limited access to mental health and addiction treatment, research has found more than a third of homeless Californians regularly use drugs, and more than a quarter have been hospitalized for a mental illness.
California is at a crossroads as it heads into next month’s primary election, and how the new governor responds to these linked issues will play a major role in whether people who are suffering get the help they need. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the number of people sleeping outside dropped 9% last year, which he credits to multiple new initiatives, such as his mental health court. But as the sector faces funding cuts, it’s unclear what will happen to the programs Newsom championed after he leaves office and whether the state can continue to build on that progress.
CalMatters, in partnership with the Steinberg Institute and Abridged – PBS KVIE, sought to interview the eight top-polling candidates for governor on these crucial themes. We asked the four candidates who agreed to interviews tough questions about homelessness and mental health policy, including when and how someone should be forced into treatment.
Here’s what they said. Candidates are listed alphabetically.
His platform is that homelessness has nothing to do with homes and everything to do with drug and alcohol abuse, which may lead to or exacerbate psychosis.
“This is not about homes,” he said. “Stop calling it homes. ‘Homeless’ was used because psychologically we feel sorry for somebody that doesn’t have a home and we believe they’re forced to live on the street. That is absolutely false. This is not about homes. Stop calling it homeless.”
What is his solution to homelessness?
A widely cited study from UCSF found one-third of homeless Californians regularly used drugs and that the most common reason people became homeless was a loss of income. Bianco dismissed that research as an “absolute travesty.” He asserted that closer to 95% of people on the street suffer from drug and alcohol addiction – a statistic he said comes from “law enforcement as a whole” without citing a specific source.
The only answer is to force people into treatment, stabilize them and get them back to wherever they were before their crisis, Bianco said.
Bianco also called Newsom’s assertion that the number of people sleeping outside in California dropped 9% last year an “absolute scam,” adding that “no one in this state believes that homeless(ness) is getting better.”
Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?
No. And he wouldn’t continue any other funding, either. “No NGO and no nonprofit is going to get money with me as the governor,” he said. He said he’d be willing to funnel a small portion of the grant toward addiction and mental health treatment.
Would he change the programs Newsom has put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?
CARE Court (Newsom’s new mental health court) doesn’t work, Bianco said, but he didn’t say how he would change it. While he said Prop. 36 (which Newsom opposed but voters approved) could have solved a lot of the state’s problems, he said it’s failing because Newsom won’t provide the resources to make it work. Bianco also wants to fully reverse Prop. 47, the 2014 reclassification of certain low-level drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
How would he improve California’s mental health system?
Bianco wants to make it easier to compel people into involuntary mental health treatment.
“We have to get to a point where the Legislature passes a law that we can actually force people into mental health treatment, whether they want it or not,” he said, “because if you ask someone if they want help who’s suffering from a mental health crisis, their answer is going to be no.”
There’s plenty of money in California’s budget, he said, but it goes to special interest groups instead of programs that actually help people who are homeless or have severe mental illnesses. “I think we’ve got to be honest that you’ve got a lot of corruption in the system,” he said.
Nothing about the way California is currently addressing homelessness is working, according to Hilton. The best course of action, Hilton said, is to scrap past policies and start over.
What is his solution to homelessness?
Hilton maintains that it’s categorically illegal for anyone to live outside on the street. “This is against the law, and the law needs to be enforced,” he said. The first step is to remove people from encampments, he said, then triage them to find out what services they need.
While many cities in California have made homeless encampments illegal, it’s up to individual jurisdictions whether to do so.
California’s current homelessness philosophy, called “housing first,” emphasizes offering housing without strings attached: that means getting someone inside as quickly as possible instead of using housing as a reward for someone getting sober, treating their mental illness or enrolling in other required programming. That strategy has been a “complete disaster,” said Hilton, who instead wants to free up all state funding to support sober housing.
Even if Newsom is right in his claim that the number of people sleeping outside in California dropped 9% last year (which Hilton disputes, though less aggressively than Bianco), he argues that drop is far too insignificant.
Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?
Hilton wants to upend rather than continue the current funding stream. “The fact that we’ve had this catastrophic failure that’s cost tens of billions of dollars means that we need a complete review of everything that’s been going on,” he said, “because it’s clearly not working.” He said “it’s possible” some existing homelessness programs are successful.
Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?
Hilton didn’t provide details about whether he would scrap, change or keep existing Newsom initiatives such as CARE Court, but he expressed a desire to overhaul state-funded programs.
How would he improve California’s mental health system?
The lack of resources available for people living with severe mental illness means that jails have become the state’s main providers of mental health care, Hilton said, which he called “completely barbaric.”
“That’s going to be the measure of success for me,” he said, “that we are no longer a society where people who need serious and intensive medical support and help are left on the streets or put in our jails.”
Despite being pressed to do so during the interview, Hilton didn’t say if or how he would change the standard California currently uses to force people into involuntary mental health treatment.
Matt Mahan – Democrat
When it comes to homelessness policy, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has become the big face of tiny homes.
San Jose has built a bunch of them under his direction. The city created more than 1,000 new temporary places to sleep last year, even as critics have accused Mahan of diverting too much money away from the longer-term housing that can permanently get someone out of homelessness.
Mahan touted his record in San Jose during this interview, including that the number of people sleeping outside in the city has dropped by nearly a quarter since 2019.
What is his solution to homelessness?
Much of how Mahan would handle homelessness in California appears to be based on what he, and his county counterparts, are already doing locally. In addition to his city’s temporary housing push, Mahan talked about Santa Clara County’s successful homelessness prevention program, approving and funding permanent homeless housing, and also supporting ADUs and market-rate housing. He authored a controversial policy in San Jose that allows police to arrest people who refuse multiple offers of shelter, though he didn’t bring that up during this interview. “We’ve taken an all-of-the-above approach,” he said. “It isn’t housing first or something else. It isn’t just brand-new apartments or just prevention. We’ve really taken an entire continuum of solutions that work together.”
Would he make the main source of state homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?
Yes. Mahan promised as governor he would fund the grant at $1 billion every year and vowed to make communities qualify for those funds based on their performance.
Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?
Mahan said Newsom was on the right track with his homelessness and mental health policies, but the state hasn’t implemented them to their full potential. That includes Prop. 1 (the mental health bond that promised to fund thousands of new treatment beds and homes), CARE Court (Newsom’s mental health court), Prop. 36 (which is supposed to divert people from jail into treatment) and Senate Bill 43 (which changes the way people qualify for long-term, involuntary mental health care).
How would he improve California’s mental health system?
Mahan wants to expand mandatory inpatient treatment. To start, he wants to “hold Sacramento accountable for adding hundreds of state mental health hospital beds.”He also wants to make it easier for someone to qualify for involuntary care. He’d convene a group of psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers, clinicians, civil rights advocates and other stakeholders to come up with a new standard for involuntary commitment that allows people to get help earlier.
Involuntary commitment should last around 30 to 60 days, and then the person should be placed into voluntary, transitional housing, Mahan said. He also wants to track how many people get stabilized and are released from institutional care, with the goal of increasing those numbers.“The compassionate thing to do is to intervene,” he said. “And yes, that may look like, it may in fact be, a temporary suspension of certain civil liberties.”
Antonio Villaraigosa – Democrat
Villaraigosa also touted his record on homelessness as a big-city mayor. He led Los Angeles from 2005 until 2013, during which time he said more homeless housing was built in the city than in the dozen years before. He also served as speaker of the Assembly in the late 1990s.
To address homelessness, Villaraigosa said his No. 1 focus would be building housing. Like Mahan, he sees potential in using tiny homes to get people off the street.
While Villaraigosa said he wants to address what he described as the “chaos” of people selling drugs in front of cops and defecating in the street, he stressed: “I’m not for criminalizing homeless(ness). I am for compassion. But I’m not for chaos. I’ve seen as I go up and down the state, people are calling for draconian responses to homelessness, which I don’t support.”
What is his solution to homelessness?
It’s too expensive to build homeless housing right now, he said. Investing in the much-cheaper alternative of tiny homes could be a solution. Secondary to addressing the need for more housing, California also needs to tackle the drug problem and mental health crisis on its streets, he said.
Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?
Yes, but only if there’s accountability, Villaraigosa said. He promised to set metrics to determine success in each city and county that receives funding. “It won’t just be money,” he said. “There will be metrics and results at the end of the rainbow, or there won’t be money.”
Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?
First, Villaraigosa wants to better track the outcomes of these programs. He said he would set up public dashboards to monitor progress, much like he did in LA with dashboards on new housing construction. Villaraigosa also wants to withhold money from counties that aren’t doing a good job using CARE Court (Newsom’s mental health court). He supported CARE Court when it started, but the program isn’t working and hardly any counties are using it to its full potential, he said.
How would he improve California’s mental health system?
If someone is on the street suffering from severe mental illness, sometimes the compassionate course of action is to commit them to a locked psychiatric institution, Villaraigosa said. Like Mahan, he wants to convene a group of experts to re-evaluate how people are currently committed, and set new standards that get more people off the street.
Another priority for Villaraigosa is the shortage of mental health professionals. To fix that, he wants to add more workers via training programs with California colleges and universities. He also wants to make insurers prioritize mental health the same way they do physical health – and provide adequate reimbursements for mental health services – which he says will help make the field more attractive to new workers.
Rich Leonardo was born May 3, 1956, to Tony and Gerry Leonardo of
Ferndale. If Rich were the first born, they may not have had another.
Rich passed away on April 30, 2026,
just three days before his 70th birthday.
To his family, he was a son, little
brother, uncle, great uncle, cousin and pain in the ass. We loved him
and we will greatly miss him. To others, he was described as wild,
loving, loud, sweet, stubborn, caring, emotional, ornery, heart of
gold, teddy bear, and a few other names. He was a solid partner in
crime for his friends (only some we can mention). Rich was always
wanting to lend a helping hand, however, sometimes he accidentally
started a war. Rich had a nickname provided by his closest friends
when he was young, “Bananas.” It suited him well.
We loved him, and he passionately
loved his friends and community.
Rich grew up attending grade school
at Grizzly Bluff in Ferndale. He and his siblings were normal ranch
kids who were always into a little bit of mischief. As Rich was the
youngest, he was unwilfully selected as the test pilot for many of
their youthful adventures. After the historic 1964 flood, a major
chapter in the Leonardo Family Album, this forced the Leonardo kids
to attend school in town (Ferndale). Rich graduated from Ferndale
High School in 1974 as the class president. Who knew?
After graduation, Rich entered the
dairy business as a partner with his dad at Leonardo & Son Dairy.
“Dairy rancher” was the title, although cows were not really the
priority. Rich spent most of his time logging and mining the river
bar. That John Deere tractor was put to the test skidding and loading
logs, mining gravel, and a few other tasks better not mentioned here
in the paper.
“Bananas” provided everyone with
some good material from these days. We could start with the St Helena
Football game, talk about his flatbed Toyota, or when he … well, we
can tell these stories later in good company.
During the ranch years, Rich became
heavily involved in community service, “wait a while” this is
serious. Rich joined the Ferndale Fire Department. The first role of
Rich in the department started as Company 1 Lieutenant, quickly
advancing to Captain, then assistant Chief before ultimately assuming
the role “Chief Leonardo.”
Chief Leonardo’s leadership
extended beyond Ferndale Fire. He served as President of the Humboldt
County Fire Chiefs Association for two years, fostering collaboration
and communication among fire departments throughout the region. He
loved his role.
Rich’s commitment and expertise in
public safety was further recognized when he was appointed to the
prestigious “Gang of 5” committee which he served for 5 years.
Formed after the tragic events of 9/11, this committee was comprised
of the sheriff, two fire chiefs, the head of public health, and a
police chief. The committee was tasked with distributing grants that
enhanced public safety infrastructure and preparedness. His years of
service and rise through the ranks speaks volumes about his
commitment to Humboldt County and the Eel River Valley. Rich did an
excellent job and took these roles more seriously than anything else
in his life.
Rich always wanted to help make
someone’s day brighter. Sometime in the 2000s, Ginger, Rich’s
older sister, wanted to see the Ferndale Christmas Tree lit up one
last time on New Years Eve. Ferndale had been out of power for a few
days so the tree was not lit. Rich coordinated getting a generator to
plug in the tree and proudly called his sister to go outside and take
a look. That sure put a huge smile on her face! They managed to
light up three strands of lights and of course the star on top was
shining brightly. Rich made his sister happy … on that day.
During the next chapter in Richie’s
life, he went to work for his brother Tony at Leonardo Logging. Rich
loved working in the timber industry. Rich, otherwise known as R6 on
the company radio, helped take care of safety, dispatching trucks,
pilot car, running errands and most of all, public relations. It
suited Rich well! With a new pick up and a fuel card, he was set.
Tony was thankful for all those times he had Rich for the extra help
… but could never find Rich? Rich looked up to his brother, and
Tony loved his little brother, and that is why Tony never killed him.
As we all know, Rich had a very
strong work ethic. He worked regular shifts at the Palace in Ferndale
and The Playroom in Fortuna, rarely missing a shift. He operated his
own pilot car service in between shifts, and even had a short stint
contributing to the press at the Ferndale Enterprise.
Rich was a social butterfly, and it
is now confirmed, Rich did know everyone! The outpouring of calls,
texts, and conversations we have received is amazing. People from all
walks of life! We are laughing and scratching our heads wondering
about a few. One thing we can say for sure is that Rich had a larger
and more diverse group of friends than most people can comprehend.
This is a true reflection of who he was. Thank you to all those who
stopped by to say hello to Rich over the past two months.
We know Rich would want to mention
his best friend, Dave Mogni. Rich had a difficult time with the
recent passing of Dave. Some of the best times of Richie’s life
were spent with Dave, and the most memorable was the sailing trip he
took with Dave and Barb around the Virgin Islands. This is not to say
Dave was his only best friend. To the Pretzel “Guy”, he loved and
listened to you more than he would his own family. He was SO proud of
all the fun times you shared. Thank you for all you have done for him
over the years.
To all Richie’s other best
friends, you know he loved you guys. Bobby Shinn for all the
adventures since childhood, Luke McCanless and the gang for all the
food, beverages and crabbing adventures, Kevin Frye, and too many
others to mention. You all know who you are! Thank you for being a
part of his family.
To all the staff at Fortuna Rehab,
we know Rich would want to give a big shout out to all the ladies!
You took such great care of him, and we thank you very much for your
sincere love and care. Our appreciation to Pat Cowan for her loving comfort and knowledge to Rich and our family.
Richard is survived by his brother
Tony and wife Janice Leonardo, his sister Ginger Nunes, his nephews
Shannon and wife Amy Leonardo, Brian and wife Nikki Leonardo, Trevor
and girlfriend Brenna Kirkpatrick, Lucas and wife Cassie Leonardo,
nieces Sierra and husband Phil Mullens, Michelle Nunes and son Faris,
great nephew Shaun Leonardo and fiancé Kaylee, great nieces Ava
Leonardo and Jessica Leonardo. And soon to be great-great niece,
Peyton Leonardo.
Rich was preceded in death by his
parents, Tony and Gerry Leonardo, sister Tina Leonardo, and
brother-in-law John Nunes.
A celebration of life for Rich,
Uncle Richie, Bananas, will be held at the Portuguese Hall in
Ferndale on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Show up around 11 a.m.
for a drink. We will have some stories and lunch then most likely
have a parade across the alley to finish off the day at Richie’s
office.
Funeral arrangements were handled by
Ayres Family Cremation.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Rich Leonardo’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
At today’s MMIP Awareness Day rally, locals held signs calling for justice for lost loved ones, including Emmilee Risling, a 32-year-old Hupa woman who disappeared from the Yurok reservation in 2021 while suffering a mental health crisis. | Photos by Isabella Vanderheiden.
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Tribal community members and allies marched to the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka this afternoon to demand justice for lost loved ones in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Awareness Day. The national MMIP movement aims to increase awareness of the ongoing violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Today’s event, organized by the Yurok Tribe, kicked off at the Adorni Center in Eureka, where volunteers handed out and free t-shirts from the To’ Kee Skuy’ Soo Ney-Wo-Chek’ (I Will See You Again in a Good Way) Project, an initiative of the Yurok Missing & Murdered Indigenous People Program focused on justice, healing and prevention. Many organizers held red, heart-shaped mylar balloons. Each of the tables scattered throughout the room was topped with red and white roses, a schedule of events and small pieces of candy.
Wiyot Tribal Councilmember Vanessa Rios gave a solemn introduction ahead of the march, remembering the Wiyot people who lost their lives in the February 26, 1860, massacre on Tuluwat Island in Humboldt Bay.
“No charges were filed for these murders – no investigation, no action taken by local law enforcement,” Rios read from a prepared statement. “No one was tried, no one held accountable. … This legacy of disregard for the lives of the Wiyot people continues today. Humboldt County has the highest concentration of [MMIP] cases in California, yet here on our own ancestral lands, Wiyot people are often left out of conversation about murdered and missing indigenous people.”
Rios’ speech was followed by a song from Yurok tribal member Lisa Hayden. “Now that we’ve had prayer, we’ve had land acknowledgement and we’ve had a beautiful song, we can go in a good way now and bring awareness,” said Laura Whitewood, community outreach manager for the Yurok Tribal Court.
As the crowd of 150-plus people made its way through Old Town and Downtown Eureka, organizers led chants calling for justice and listed the names of several local indigenous people whose missing persons cases have yet to be resolved. Many held signs featuring the names and pictures of loved ones.
