Your very busy LoCO correspondent did not have time to take an artful photo — apologies! But I thought you should know that Arcata’s Bead Supply (corner of 8th & I) is offering free strawberry plants today. Perhaps not as fascinating as another pot bust or meth-related arrest, but sometimes we need to inject a little sweetness in among the madness. And summertime berry fun in your own backyard? That’s about as sweet as it gets. 

Hopefully the skies have opened and the rain is falling as you’re reading this. Because all that clear weather you’ve been raving about as gorgeous sunrises give way to spectacular sunsets with night after night of big, fat glowing moon action? Signs of an abnormally dry winter, the cost of which remains uncertain.

In more news of things you shouldn’t approach with confidence, please note that when you order fish at a restaurant or select a fillet at the grocery store, you may or may not be getting what you think. Southern Californians in particular are likely to be misled, while Seattle-ites are best able to trust their sources. So here we are, smack dab in the middle and wondering how to tell a fish from a fish!

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The Oregonion reports that the regional commercial crab season has been re-delayed ‘til Dec. 31 due to the fact that sample specimens collected — and subsequently dipped in garlic butter, no doubt — still have sub-optimal meat-to-shell ratios.

Oregon wildlife managers say that the Dungeness off their own shores are A-OK, but those in our region and southern Washingon are still too spindly, and hence we’ve torpedoed the holidays for the entire coast.

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UPDATE, 11 a.m.: What are we to make of the Times-Standard’s report this morning that the California Department of Fish and Game won’t announce it’s decision for our stretch of the coast until 5 p.m. today?

A split season has certainly happened before, but check these facts: The Oregonian — whose report is based on a meeting held yesterday between regulators representing all three states — says that the skimpy Cali crabs are flubbing the season. Their own crabs are golden, they say.

So would Oregon delay its own harvest if California isn’t going to? Or is the California delay a foregone conclusion, decided yesterday, but which for whatever reason of bureaucracy remains officially unannounced in our great state?

I ask you. But we shall see, I suppose.

Lunch rush at Pho Hoang

In most college towns, being within walking distance of campus is enough to deliver a steady stream of hungry students to even the most mediocre restaurant. That didn’t seem to hold true for Arcata’s New Fortune, despite a small-but-dedicated cadre of take-out aficionados. Th