Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On May 12th, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the Eureka Police Department Animal Control Unit responded to a residence in the 1700 block of H Street for a report of several dogs running loose in public in front of the residence.

Upon arrival, the Animal Control Officer observed what appeared to be hazardous and unhealthy living conditions inside and around the residence. Patrol and Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET) Officers responded to assist with the investigation. During the investigation, officers learned that a juvenile and an infant were living at the residence with two adults identified as Karen Asbury, 53 years old of Eureka, and Shawna Brink, 45 years old of Eureka.

Due to the hazardous conditions inside the residence, City Code Enforcement responded and deemed the residence uninhabitable. Humboldt County Child Welfare Services responded and took protective custody of the juvenile and infant. The dogs located at the residence were transported to the Humboldt County Animal Shelter for care.

Karen Asbury and Shawna Brink were both taken into custody and booked for felony child endangerment and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Eureka Police Department at (707) 441-4300.

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Press release from Humboldt Made:

Humboldt Made is proud to announce the return of the Eureka Friday Night Market, kicking off May 22nd, in Old town Eureka, in partnership with the City of Eureka and the North Coast Growers Association. Now in its most exciting season yet, Friday Night Market continues to grow as one of Humboldt County’s most beloved community events, celebrating local creativity, supporting small businesses, and bringing people together week after week.

This year, the market is bigger and better than ever, with thoughtful updates designed to enhance both the visitor experience and opportunities for the incredible community that makes this event so special.

At the heart of the Friday Night Market are more than 150 local vendors, a vibrant mix of farmers, food producers, artists, makers, and small businesses. From handmade goods and locally grown produce to prepared foods and specialty products, the market offers a true snapshot of Humboldt’s creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

One of the most exciting changes this season is the new main stage location at the corner of 2nd and G Street, creating a more dynamic and central hub for live music and performances. In addition, the beloved Gazebo will be transformed into a Non-Profit Spotlight Zone, giving local organizations a dedicated space to connect with the community and share their work.

We’re also welcoming our new Market Coordinator, Olivia Gambino, whose energy, organization, and passion for community are already helping shape what promises to be an incredible season.

“We are proud to produce an outstanding event that celebrates Humboldt creativity, supports local makers, and fosters economic opportunity within our community,” said Olivia Gambino, Friday Night Market Coordinator.

Humboldt Made Executive Director Rosa Dixon added, “There’s an energy at Friday Night Market that you can’t replicate—incredible food, live music, and makers all coming together in one place. It’s where you feel the heartbeat of this community, and it’s something we’re truly passionate about continuing to grow.”

In a continued effort to make the market more accessible and sustainable, Humboldt Made is launching a Punch Card Rewards Program in partnership with Humboldt Transit Authority, encouraging attendees to ride the bus and earn rewards for participating.

The 2026 season will feature an exciting lineup of weekly themes and live music, including opening night with the Kinetic Grand Championship, Juneteenth celebrations, Pride Night, and themed evenings like Neon Night, 90’s/Y2K Throwback, and Resort Wear Chic. With performances from local favorites and regional talent, the music lineup promises something for everyone.

Humboldt Made Marketing Director Charlene Cook shared her excitement for the season:  “We have some stellar vendors this year along with a really fun lineup of music. It’s going to be another great season of community fun!”

Friday Night Market runs weekly throughout the summer in Old Town Eureka and continues to serve as a vital platform for local entrepreneurs, artists, farmers, and nonprofits.

Whether you come for the food, the music, the shopping, or simply the atmosphere, Friday Night Market is where Humboldt comes together.

Join us May 22nd for opening night and experience what it means to Choose Humboldt.

Press release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Following three consecutive years of closure, salmon fishing will return to the Klamath River Basin and Sacramento River for the upcoming summer and fall seasons. More good news comes for inland anglers with a full season on the Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers after a shortened season in 2025. These added fishing opportunities come as a result of an increase in numbers of adult Chinook salmon returning from the ocean to the Klamath Basin and Central Valley.

The California Fish and Game Commission at its May 6 meeting adopted amendments to sport fishing regulations specifying season dates, bag and possession limits for the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley, and a quota for the Klamath and Trinity rivers. The adopted regulations aim to protect salmon as populations are expected to continue to rebound as a result of actions guided by California’s Salmon Strategy for a Hotter Drier Future (PDF)(external link).

“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is incredibly encouraged to see our public and private collaborative efforts pay off, allowing us to expand opportunities for California’s dedicated angling community while maintaining a steadfast commitment to long-term population recovery,” said CDFW Director Meghan Hertel. “It is a moment of genuine celebration for everyone invested in the health of our watersheds. CDFW looks forward to seeing anglers return to the Klamath Basin and Central Valley for fishing and fun on the river.”

Increases in hatchery production, investments in salmon research and habitat restoration projects, a series of good water years, dam removals and inland and ocean fishery closures have all aligned to bring Chinook and with that, Chinook fishing, back to the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley.

For the Klamath Basin, fishing will open for late spring-run Chinook salmon July 1 and will continue until Aug. 14 on the Klamath River and Aug. 31 on the Trinity River. Fall-run Chinook salmon fishing will begin on Aug. 15 on the Klamath River and Sept. 1 on the Trinity River and continue until Dec. 31. The fall-run adult quota is 3,248 fish, though fishing for jacks will continue after the adult quota is met. For the late spring-run salmon fishery, the daily bag limit is one fish of any size and the possession limit is two fish. For the fall-run salmon fishery, the daily bag limit is two fish, only one of which can be an adult greater than 23 inches; the possession limit is six fish, of which only three may be adults greater than 23 inches.

For the Central Valley, the general fall-run salmon fishing season will open on July 16 and close on Dec. 16, with some variation for upper and lower stretches of the rivers. For each tributary a daily bag limit of two fish and a possession limit of four fish of any size has been set.

All regulations, season dates and boundaries will be printed in the Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations (PDF)(external link) when available.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council finalized its recommendations for California’s recreational and commercial ocean salmon seasons and harvest limits at its April 7-12 meeting. For more information about the 2026 ocean salmon fishing season, see the press release.

From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On May 11, 2026, at approximately 6:15 p.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to St. Joseph’s Hospital to meet with a 40-year-old victim of a reported sexual assault.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the deputy contacted the victim, who was accompanied by a member of the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. During the investigation, the suspect was identified as 32-year-old Rashad Carter of Eureka.

Based on the victim’s statement and evidence collected, a Ramey warrant (arrest warrant) was issued for Carter’s arrest.

On May 12, 2026, at approximately 9:32 p.m., deputies responded to Carter’s residence in the 2100 block of Fern Street in Eureka and arrested him on the warrant.

Carter was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on the following charges:

• PC 261(a)(2) — Rape by Force or Fear
• PC 287(c)(2)(A) — Oral Copulation by Use of Force or Fear
• PC 289(a)(1)(A) — Sexual Penetration with Force or Fear

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip Line at (707) 268-2539.

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Eleven weeks into the Iran war and a global energy shock, California drivers are paying the highest gas prices in the nation, an average of $6.15 a gallon this week.

The pain at the pump is colliding with California’s ambitious push away from fossil fuels, as refinery closures, supply disruptions and a deepening debate over reliance on imported oil and gas raise new questions about whether the state can keep gasoline affordable during the transition.

Here are five things to know about how Sacramento is responding to the crisis and what it could mean for prices in the months ahead.

California can see six weeks out — after that, prices could rise.

California can confidently forecast gasoline and crude oil shipments coming in through about mid-June, and supply looks stable through that window, Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, told an Assembly oversight hearing last week.

After that, oil and gas will cost significantly more to secure, he said.

California can outbid the rest of the world for gasoline and crude oil, pulling shipments away from Asia and other markets. But that bidding war comes at a cost, and consumers will pay it at the pump, Gunda told the committee.

To hedge against that uncertainty, Gunda said California is negotiating long-term supply deals with Asian refiners that could lock in another three to six months of certainty.

“Liquidity, in the short-term, is okay,” Gunda said. “As we move forward, it’s really about making sure more ships are coming, more marine vessels are coming.”

As refineries close, imports are filling the gap.

The Iran war has exposed California’s growing reliance on imports of both crude oil and gasoline. The state needs to import more supply as in-state refineries shut down.

Neale Mahoney, a Stanford economist, told the committee that imports can be a benefit. They add competition and lower prices, since newer overseas refineries often produce gasoline more cheaply than California’s.

Other experts agree. UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein, also at the hearing, said California’s resilience now depends on building out port, pipeline and storage capacity to handle imports, not on bringing new refineries online.

As the war has dragged on, California refiners have shifted crude sourcing away from the Persian Gulf toward Latin America, Alaska and Canada, Gunda said at the hearing last week. The state met about 20% of its refined-product demand through imports in the year before the war began.

“Fundamentally, we have to recognize we are going to have fewer refineries, and the solution is imports,” Borenstein said.

The oil industry says imports are the problem, not the answer.

But the oil industry is pushing back, saying that relying on increased imports is the wrong strategy. California’s fuel system has been “weakened by design” by state policies pushing refiners out of the state, said Jodie Muller, president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association — a characterization energy economists dispute.

Because California requires that cars burn a specialized fuel blend, shipments can be tougher to source and take longer to arrive, exposing consumers to delays and volatility every time something goes wrong globally.

“Continuing to move to more and more imports will put this state at more and more risk,” Muller said last week. “If you think we are in a precarious position right now, we will continue to see more and more volatility.”

And the oil industry argues that the playing field is tilted. California refiners face some of the strictest rules in the world, the industry argues, while imported gasoline is produced under far weaker standards before it’s shipped halfway around the world. California requires importers to certify their fuels meet its standards, but the industry argues that foreign producers operate under less stringent environmental rules.

$6.50 or $7-plus? Experts can’t agree.

In the end, what you feel most acutely is the price you pay at the pump. And even the experts aren’t sure where things will land.

Asked what consumers should expect if the conflict drags on, Gunda said California prices will likely settle “under seven, more like $6.50.” He explained that demand starts dropping once gas crosses about $5.50 a gallon, and California is already seeing drivers shift from higher-priced stations to cheaper ones.

Borenstein is less optimistic. If the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carried more than 20 million barrels of oil a day before the start of the war, stays closed another 60 days, the price of crude could climb by another $40 to $80 a barrel, he said. Each $40 increase translates into about $1 per gallon at the pump. He called that scenario plausible, and warned there’s almost nothing California policy can do about it.

“Unfortunately, I think that would be a crisis,” Borenstein said. “I know we all hope that doesn’t happen and that the flow of oil resumes, but the reality is we are on borrowed time as we run down inventories.”

Will high gas prices boost EV sales?

California has spent years trying to push drivers out of gas cars. Now sky-high gas prices may be sparking interest in some consumers.

EV sales in California slumped last year after the Trump administration revoked a key federal tax incentive, undercutting California’s plan to steadily replace gas-powered cars with electric ones to meet its climate goals.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is now pushing to revive some of those sales through a new state incentive under negotiation in the budget. It’s too early to know whether pain at the pump is translating into a broad rebound in EV demand. But some consumers are already making the switch.

When gas prices recently climbed past $6 a gallon in Redding, Victor Ireland said his daughter decided there was “no way” she wanted a gas-powered car after watching the family spend more than $140 on a single Sacramento round trip in their minivan.

The search wasn’t easy. EV inventories have dropped across the country since expiring federal tax credits briefly boosted demand. The family searched dealerships across the West, from Washington to Kansas, after his daughter settled on a specific model: the Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani Collector’s Edition. They found a dealer in Utah that could ship the vehicle to California.

Ireland said the soaring cost of gasoline only reinforced his family’s decision. “You just charge it and go,” he said.

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A new bill in the state Legislature would require counties to report basic information about public defender services, such as how many cases attorneys handle, in an effort to compel California to confront its public defender crisis.

The proposed legislation comes after a CalMatters investigative series exposed failures in California’s county-based public defender systems. Our reporting showed that public defender offices across the state lack defense investigators, who are often the greatest protection against wrongful convictions. We also found that lawyers in several rural counties had astronomical caseloads, and were less likely than other defense attorneys to challenge the prosecutors’ evidence in legal motions and take their cases to trial.

“We cannot as a government look the other way and rely exclusively on our journalistic partners to really uncover and peel back that onion and see how bad it is,” said Assemblymember Nick Schultz of Burbank, who is co-sponsoring the bill. He said statewide data might “reveal an even more bleak picture.”

California has a constitutional obligation to ensure poor people accused of crimes, who account for more than 80 percent of criminal defendants, receive effective representation. But the state has left that responsibility entirely in the hands of its 58 counties, which collectively spend almost twice as much on prosecuting people as they do on defending them.

California is one of just two states that don’t provide any funding or oversight of trial-level public defense. There are no minimum standards and no reporting requirements. The resulting patchwork of local systems is rife with disparities.

Many of the state’s rural counties have outsourced their public defender services through flat-fee contracts, paying private attorneys and firms a fixed amount, regardless of how many cases they handle or how much time they spend on each case. A bill that would ban these arrangements, which disincentivize investigating and litigating cases, was put on hold last year. Seven of the eight counties with the state’s highest jail and prison incarceration rates have flat-fee contracts.

“There are dire signs in some jurisdictions of attorneys handling 300, 400, 500, or more cases in a year, including hundreds of felonies,” said Josh Schwartz, a researcher with the Wren Collective, a nonprofit organization advocating for criminal justice reform. The proposed bill mandating data collection, he said, “would be a massive step towards bringing the caseload crisis that we know is occurring into public view.”

The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula of Fresno, would require each county to report rudimentary data every two years. Arambula had previously sponsored legislation that led to a comprehensive workload study of California’s public defender services. The study, which was published last year, called California “an outlier in not collecting and publishing comprehensive, aggregated data on its county-based public defense systems.”

“This bill is a necessary first step in understanding the scope of this issue,” Arambula said. It would require legislators to “face that truth head on, and to identify disparities so that ultimately we can address them.”

Many of the contractors in counties with flat-fee systems already collect caseload data in order to report it to county supervisors. And most of the state’s institutional public defender offices use case management systems that track this data, though each county uses its own metrics.

The California State Association of Counties opposes the bill, and has asked legislators to include language that would make compliance with reporting requirements contingent on state funding. The organization also opposes the flat-fee ban, and has characterized that measure as an unfunded mandate from the state. Arambula said his office is requesting $30 million to help counties pay for data collection.

Scott Baly, a retired Fresno County public defender, told the assembly’s Public Safety Committee in April that criminal defendants want attorneys who have “time to read the police reports … to maybe meet you in the jail and listen to your side of the story.”

“Are they gonna talk to me and are they gonna help me with this problem? The answer to these questions is caseload,” he said. “How busy are these lawyers?”

The bill passed the assembly’s Local Government and Public Safety committees with unanimous support and is now in front of the Appropriations Committee.

Schultz, a former prosecutor, said high caseloads and a lack of investigators undermine the entire justice system.

“We need to make sure that we’re making the investment to have a sufficient number of capable and qualified attorneys who can actually hold prosecutors to account and make them prove the case,” he said. “It has to start with the data.”

Teresa Marie Houghton, formerly Harper, maiden last name Addis, passed away on May 8, 2026, at home, surrounded by her family.

Terry was born on September 13, 1952, to John and Claudia Addis. She grew up in Freshwater and attended Freshwater School, then graduated from Eureka High School in 1970. She later studied at Frederick and Charles Beauty College. Afterward, she joined Simpson Timber Company in Korbel, among the first women hired there. While working there, she met and married Jody Harper. They were married for 17 years and lived in both McKinleyville and the Yuba City / Marysville area, where they raised their three children. After Jody passed away unexpectedly, Terry returned to Humboldt County to be near family. She later worked at Safeway in Eureka, where she met Albert Houghton. They were married on Oct. 23, 2004. After Albert retired, they moved back to Humboldt County, where they resided in Rio Dell and enjoyed being close to family.

She is preceded in death by her parents, John and Claudia Addis, and grandson, Brandon White. Terry is survived by her husband Albert, brother Mike Addis (Jeanette) and sister Crystal Addis (John), daughter Nanette Dean, son Jody Harper (Fama), daughter Erin Holt (Brandon). She leaves behind nine grandchildren — Faith, Adrian, Kristen, Erika, Victoria, Megan, Jesse, Patience and Kincade — as well as 6 great-grandchildren, Lilly, Lyla, Grayson, Brantly, Banks and Brayden.

She was a woman of quiet strength and unwavering faith. Her life was a testament of resilience, kindness and the grace of God. Through every hardship, her faith in the Lord remained steadfast. She knew God carried her through life and she used that strength to pour love and compassion into others. Her heart was tender, forgiving and deeply rooted in love. She wanted the very best for everyone and longed for others to know the same faith and comfort in God that guided her throughout her life. Though small in stature, she filled every room. Her presence was magnetic. Whether she was baking goodies from scratch, tending to her garden, or spending time with her beloved dachshund Nina, she cared for everything and everyone with patience and devotion. Her strength, determination and caring spirit made her extraordinary. To many, she was not just important – she was their world. Her legacy of faith, love, resilience and kindness will continue to live on in all who were blessed to know her.

The family plans to have a private celebration of life. If anyone feels inclined the family asks that donations be made on her behalf to California Cancer Crusher locally or to St. Jude to continue the fight for the cure.